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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766129">it takes a village</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/themagnacarla/pseuds/themagnacarla'>themagnacarla</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), RE8, Resident Evil, resident evil village</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Mom!Alcina over Mommy!Alcina everyday anyday 25/8, Mommy Issues, Reader-Insert, Rom-com, Self-Insert, Sexual Tension, Slowish burn?, Vampire Hunters, VampireHunter!Reader, found family trope, lots of courting and intellectual banter, the daughters are FOND of YOU therefore Alcina HAS to love you, this is meant to be wholesome really, wholesome wholesome wholesome</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:29:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>45,733</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/themagnacarla/pseuds/themagnacarla</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Her mother deserved to fall in love, and Daniela had a plan - she would set you up with Alcina, thinking you were just the new girl in the village, clueless about the rich history and the horrific process that went into producing the family’s famed vintage. You had everyone convinced of your naivety, even the Lady herself.<br/>In reality, you were an undercover hunter of vampires, and Alcina Dimitrescu was your bloodline’s mortal enemy.</p><p>(It wouldn’t be so bad if you continued hating the House. But Daniela’s antics and desperation for a friend were hard not to love; her sisters were impossible to avoid due to their passion of education and discussion; and Lady Dimitrescu, well, taking her head for the price of taking your heart seemed rather unfair.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alcina Dimitrescu (Resident Evil)/Reader, Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil)/Reader, Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil)/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>181</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>934</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. when fish fly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this to deal with my mommy issues; also, I value Mom!Alcina &gt; Mommy!Alcina SOOO much, so there will be plenty of that here.</p><p>Sibling order: Crizantemă, or Emă (oldest - name significance to be explained later on); Daniela (middle); Tiffany (youngest)</p><p>I’ve also made a playlist for this fic! Find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=3Mf4no2QRh6zQAHs-mTGMw</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The buzzing sounds of an incoming swarm of insects always preceded and followed misfortune, happening enough times that it became a legendary omen throughout the village. Tonight, and all the previous nights before for the past few months, there was an abnormal spike in deaths, all men, and all happening within their homes, though there had been no signs of breaking and entering. </p><p>The conclusion: this misfortune was invited in. And Daniela, ever the seductress both inside and outside the castle walls, would agree. </p><p>With Mother’s strict diet of maiden’s blood, the girls were all encouraged to follow her eating habits; they did all love the unique flavor that was the staple of the family winery - there was an indescribable purity and floral sweetness that overpowered the rich metallic notes of a virgin that had reached maturity - but everyone, Daniela in particular, always found herself craving the junk food of their realm, something she could never have enough of: Man blood. </p><p>Man blood was different (though, not necessarily better). It was earthy and savory and Daniela, personally, filled up on it faster. The way the men screamed and fought back - Daniela could satiate her hunger on the look in their eyes alone, the utter confidence that they would be able to overpower her simply because she was a woman. But as she drained the blood from their body, ravaging their exposed jugular in pure ecstasy, their confidence would slowly fade until they stopped trying to push her away, until their legs stopped kicking and jolting involuntarily, until they stopped moving altogether. That was the height of her meal, to sit back, and watch their empty gazes directed towards the ceiling, seeing nothing, their final thoughts filled with her and only her. The mere idea of it was enough to make her own blood pound, right up against her eardrums. </p><p>Tonight was supposed to be the same as all the others, with Daniela gorging on junk food against her Mother’s wishes - she wouldn’t be mad, per se, just disappointed if she learned that Daniela would sneak out and commit massacres on her own every few months, instead of following a rigorous and organized routine they’d established with harvesting maidens. But tonight’s hunt was able to strike Daniela in the very pits of her heart, down to her stomach, so deeply she thought she might throw him up - that would really be a waste then. </p><p>She was on her way home now, her physical body separated into hundreds of moths, all sharing a single mind, replaying her hunt over and over. </p><p>The man she preyed on had been an absolute aesthetic prize - what he lacked in respectable manners, he more than made up for with his muscular physique; Daniela could smell his rare Type AB blood from a mile away, and had been saving him for the new moon so she would be able to plan out everything carefully. This male human was popular among the village denizens as a descendant of some of the first settlers there, which meant he would be dearly missed. This only posed a slightly harder challenge for Daniela than usual; the tragedy had to be perfect. </p><p>And so she changed into her best form: her human self, sans blood and cakes of dirt from all the trouble she got herself into. She wore a corset that squeezed her ribs and pushed out her breasts underneath a simple cotton dress and brown hood. Her blonde hair shined golden, matching the fire in her eyes, and the fire that burned within her, eager for her meal. </p><p>She caught his attention easily enough, knowing her natural beauty and the innocent charm she put on (inspired by her younger sister, Tiffany) would be irresistible to an arrogant man such as himself. </p><p>Daniela watched his forest green eyes the whole time, the way they were heavy-lidded with desire for her, from the second he spotted her walking down a lone pathway he frequented on his evening strolls, to the minute he suggested committing heart-racing atrocities to her into the morning light. </p><p>This way, she was able to enjoy how they instantly widened in fear the moment she shed her facade, turning into a swarm of moths before him and cornering him against a wall. </p><p>He swatted away at every bit of her before raising his arms to cover his head and face. She took this opportunity to reform into her true female form, and grabbed his jaw, tilting it at an angle so she could see his racing pulse. She leaned closer and sniffed him. </p><p>“Humans are so <em> fragile </em> !” She mocked, laughing, “Not to mention <em> careless </em>. You really just walk around exposing your necks so freely? You could’ve at least made the effort to tempt me by wearing a collar,” Daniela pointed to her silver collar necklace, the pad of her index finger resting on the ruby red jewel right at the center, above her throat. “You humans are pathetic.”</p><p>“Get <em> away </em>!” He growled, and he managed to push her back. She stumbled slightly, but regained footing, enjoying watching the gears in his mind work, as if she would allow him to escape from her so easily. </p><p>He looked around frantically in his dark kitchen, alight only by the street lamps outside; frantic, he grabbed the few bowls off the table and flung them at her, which she was able to dodge except for one. </p><p>The cold breakfast porridge hit her right in the face as the bowl landed perfectly on her head. Normally, she was the last to mind a mess, but with that, this prey of hers was getting on her nerves. </p><p>“Porridge? <em> Porridge? </em> This’ll be in my hair for <em> days </em>!” Daniela screamed at him. She would be sure to finish every last drop of his blood. </p><p>And Mother hated wasting food—that was drilled into Daniela early on. </p><p>“I-I should’ve known you were one of them!” The man fired back, circling the kitchen table as she followed after him. </p><p>“Pray tell,” Daniela said, tone laced in sarcastic interest. Her prey was entering the stage of regret, verbalizing all the ‘should’ statements the back of their rational mind was aware of, yet was never powerful enough to convince them against approaching her.</p><p>“I thought I could get a good quick fuck tonight. Hot chick like you out in the middle of the night? Ha. I should’ve known you were one of them.”</p><p>“I’m going to give you about five seconds left to say all you want to say to me before I unleash my full potential. I’m enjoying this, you know, watching you squirm and hear every rapid flutter of your heartbeat. Meal preparation has never been so easy,” Daniela advanced at him, backing him into the back of his couch, which he jumped over, hands raised and balled into fists in front of him. </p><p>If she wasn’t getting so hungry, she would have laughed. At will, Daniela produced her and her sisters’ weapon of choice, a sickle, and swiped at him. She could hear his sleeve and his skin beneath tear, and the blood that drew made her mouth water when the scent reached her nostrils. He yelped in pain, crouching into himself as his hand went to cover the injury. </p><p>“You rancid <em> bitch </em>! I should’ve seen through your slutty disguise. You’re one of those witches from the castle!”</p><p>“Oh, ho ho! Good to know my reputation precedes me. Will you hold still now? I’m absolutely <em> famished </em>,” Daniela was backing him up into a wall again. </p><p>“Isn’t your mom the Tall One? God, she’s so hot, I’d do her in a second.”</p><p>Daniela faltered. <em> Is...is he serious? He is on the brink of death with a sickle at his throat and he dares make comments about my Mother?  </em></p><p>
  <em> This male is of a different breed with a death wish.  </em>
</p><p>“Don’t fucking talk about Ma like that,” she growled, though she realized at the last second she had called her ‘Ma’ instead of ‘Mother’ to this stranger. A smirk curved his lips, knowing he got to her. Her blood was boiling now, and she pounced on him, slamming him against the wooden planks of the wall. </p><p>“Did I hit a nerve? Stupid cunt. Your evil bitch of a mother is the one who should be getting laid around here. But who the hell else would ever want a monster like her?” </p><p>Those were his last words. She let his blood wash over her, spurting from his thick neck, and feasted with a passion she never had before. But this meal had been tainted by his repulsive comments. She didn’t know why she took this one to heart so much; Daniela was usually so thick-skinned. Then again, they were directed at her Ma this time. Last words were usually cast at <em> her </em>, and therefore easy to shrug off. </p><p>She didn’t cry, that was unlike Daniela. Tiffany cried enough for all three of them anyway. But her eyes stung. She felt angry. Her hunger was gone, but there was an emptiness there, a degree of annoyance that one of his final acts was reaching out and successfully pinching a nerve. </p><p>Their mother didn’t need anyone but them three. <em> Right? </em></p><p>As Daniela sped through the last few trees of the forest separating the village from the top of the hills where their castle resided, she believed that statement less and less. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>She tracked bits of mud and porridge on her way in, earning her a death glare from her eldest sister. </p><p>“Hey. We don’t have maids at the moment, missy, so I hope you’re not expecting Tiff and I to clean that—also, is...is that oatmeal? And why do you smell like man b—,”</p><p>“Emă, can I have 5 minutes to myself before you start berating me? I just got home,”</p><p>Emă abandoned the decorative vase she had been admiring before Daniela strolled in smelling like a hot mess and placed a hand on her hip, narrowing her eyes at her younger sister. </p><p>“Mom is gonna kill you. Did you even <em> try </em>being subtle about sneaking off to feed?”</p><p>“Where the fuck are the maids?” Daniela demanded. </p><p>“I just told you, we’re <em> severely </em>understaffed. Mom harvested the last one two nights ago. We haven’t collected anymore since.”</p><p>Daniela growled, “No wonder this castle is knee-deep in shit. This is fucking stupid,” she slammed a fist against one of the busts nearest to her. Her jaw tightened, and she didn’t make a sound, but the others knew it hurt.</p><p>Tiffany gasped in the corner, alerting Daniela of her presence in the shadows of the room. Emă just frowned, “Okay? Did your prey shove a stick up your ass before you ate him? What are you talking and hitting stuff like that for?”</p><p>“This is my house. I can say and do what I want. You’re not the boss of me,”</p><p>“Oh, Dani,” Tiffany spoke, voice laced with concern, “What happened?”</p><p>“Don’t coddle her, if she wants to be a bratty bitch, let her have it out,” Emă said. </p><p>Daniela crossed her arms, then raised one to run a hand through her hair, completely forgetting the chunks of wet grain making the strands stick together. She could feel it seep through, and touch the skin of her scalp. Now, it was on her fingers.</p><p>She cursed again, more loudly this time.</p><p>Emă tensed, “If mom hears you, she’ll--”</p><p>“She’ll what? What will she do?” her voice quivered, and Emă and Tiffany exchanged glances.</p><p>They watched as she shed her hood and folded it up in her hands - Daniela knew better than to discard it on the floor. She made her way to the massive couch, the back of which was pressed against the opposite wall. She appeared so small sitting on one end, dressed in simple cotton undergarments, hugging her dirty hood stained with mud and blood.</p><p>“Where’s Ma?” she asked, cradling her forehead.</p><p>Her sudden change in attitude softened her sisters, as well as alarmed them. Daniela was usually so stand-offish; if she was being like this, it meant that whatever happened truly rattled her.</p><p>“She’s resting probably. Or down at the wine cellar,” Emă offered, if only to fill the silence with an answer, even if she hadn’t been sure.</p><p>“I think I saw her headed for the library earlier,” Tiffany offered.</p><p>“Hm,” Daniela hummed, “Figures...she’s been so distant lately. Don’t tell me I’m the only one who’s noticed that.” </p><p>Her sisters exchanged more glances, truly unsure where Daniela would be headed tonight, where she would be taking them via the chaos of her mind.</p><p>“No...you’re not,” Emă admitted, “But I’m sure she’s just in a funk. We still have dinner every evening, like always. I’m surprised you don’t ditch those,”</p><p>“Okay, but that’s the only family time we ever have anymore! We used to have so much fun together, you remember, right? Killing someone used to be a group activity. We’d call shots on which body part we wanted to maim and make a drinking game out of how the prey would beg for their lives. When was the last time we did something stimulating like that?” Daniela wanted to live in those memories, to swim forever in the feelings of nostalgia and euphoria.</p><p>“Now hunting feels more like a chore. You know when you eat something because someone’s told you to? Or because you <em> have </em>to? Like that. Everything’s sucked the life out of everything.” She pouted, and leaned back, her shoulders hitting the cushions with a soft thud.</p><p>“I feel like I’m supposed to say a vampiric joke, but I’ll refrain,” Tiffany quipped.</p><p>“See? Even your humor’s different. Cheesy,”</p><p>“Well, it sure pairs nicely with your <em> whine </em>,” Tiffany bit back.</p><p>“All right, all right. We’re a boring little family,” Emă said, “But to be fair, we’re not the ones who sneak out at night and commit independent activities.”</p><p>“I’m <em> bored </em>. Do you want a thesis, little miss bookworm?”</p><p>“I do, actually. Will you be reaching a legitimate point? Or will you just be venting? Because it sounds like you’re dragging out a point and it’s nearly bedtime.”</p><p>Daniela stood, and paced to the middle of the main living room area. She stood in the center of the intricate circular design of the massive rug, clicking her heels together as if the action would whisk her away, maybe into some other timeline where she could find the answers to be able to fix this period of boredom and distance within their familial relationships. She missed their family nights, and even Uncle Heisenberg, who only rarely popped in anymore, and if he did, it was on a business call to discuss the factory and Mother’s distillery.</p><p>They all used to be so close - what the hell happened?</p><p>Was it the monotony of each day? Daniela realized the weeks, months, and years blurred together, now more than before. They had fallen into a routine: collect maids and maidens, shove them into the dungeons, wait for Mother’s approval to begin the wine-making process, then finally clean the women, and prepare them for the Harvest. Mother would take care of the rest from that point, testing and draining the women of their blood; rows of bottles of her special vintage would be produced by the end of the week. Then the process would repeat. The girls used to be more involved, but that lessened over the years. They mainly did the collecting now.</p><p><em> What a drag </em> . Was that all they had been doing these past several decades? To a creature like Daniela, time usually meant nothing. But she thought it was a crime to be wasteful nonetheless. <em> Ma taught me the importance of being economical, and asked me to promise not to be wasteful. </em>Daniela didn’t like to think of her mother as a business woman - she had always just been ‘Ma,’ but a business woman was exactly what she was.</p><p>She could suggest another family outing, but what good would that do? They would all be familiar with what would happen. No, they needed a drastic change. Maybe, just this once, they shouldn’t kill the maiden when they found one. Maybe, they should take her in and befriend--</p><p><em> What </em>was happening to her? This wasn’t the Daniela she herself knew. Keeping a human pet around wouldn’t last for long. And making friends wasn’t exactly any of their strengths, being the recluses and introverts that they were. Though...the more Daniela played around with the idea, the more she thought it could still be worth the effort. And if things went awry, they could always kill the maiden after. By then, everyone’s relationship with each other should be repaired. </p><p><em> Family comes first </em>. </p><p>“Hello? Are you just gonna stand there like a weirdo?” Emă’s voice finally registered; she must have been trying to get her attention for a while, and Daniela had spaced out.</p><p>“You know...just before I ripped out his throat, he said something to me. About Ma,”</p><p>Daniela had her sisters’ attention now.</p><p>“He called her a monster, and said she needed to get laid,”</p><p>Tiffany choked on her own breath and Emă just stared, nostrils flaring. </p><p>“I hope he died a slow, painful death.” Emă said lowly.</p><p>“Oh, trust me, he did. I let that bastard bleed out and made sure to hit each nerve with my teeth. But it got me thinking--,”</p><p>“That’s never good,” Tiffany sighed, earning her a glare.</p><p>“<em> It got me thinking </em> ...maybe Ma <em> should </em>have a companion. A serious, steady one,”</p><p>Tiffany raised her brows, and Emă cocked her head to the side, expressionless.</p><p>“Your big idea...is coming from an abhorrent male who made derogatory sexual remarks about my mom?” Emă asked; her features were pulled into an expression of confusion now, rather than neutrality; for her, emotions came forth slowly, and Daniela knew if she didn’t elaborate soon, Emă wouldn’t be so patient.</p><p>“<em> No </em>. Look, every maiden we bring here, we kill and turn into wine. What if...what if we kept one around? For longer than a week, I mean.”</p><p>“So, a maid,”</p><p>Tiffany gasped, “Or you mean like a pet?”</p><p>“Well, she would be Ma’s pet. Come on, she’s been lonely for <em> so </em> long.” Daniela turned to their eldest sister, “Oh, my sweet Crizantemă, tell me why we <em> can’t </em>find her someone to play with? Someone who’s more than just a sex doll and can actually stick around for a bit.” </p><p>Tiffany covered her ears at that.</p><p>“What? I’m not gonna sit here and pretend Ma isn’t a freak, you know. The walls are incredibly thin,”</p><p>“Dani, stop! That’s Mama you’re speaking about!” Tiffany hissed.</p><p>“Don’t be such a baby.”</p><p>“I’m 16, I’m not a child.”</p><p>“It’s not the 17th century anymore, sweet pea.”</p><p>Tiffany pouted.</p><p>“Every woman we bring in here is scared of us. The longest we’ve had a maid was a few months. The whole village cowers in the presence of the castle. They use our name as a curse you’re forbidden from saying, lest you want misfortune to descend upon you. And you wanna find a friend?”</p><p>Emă had a point.</p><p>“Look, I never said I had all the details worked out. It’s just an idea. I just...wanna be a family again. I want Ma to be happy again.”</p><p>“We <em> are </em>a family. And Mom is doing just fine without us meddling with her sexual and romantic affairs. You know how hurt she’d be if she heard us talking about our life like this? Like we aren’t happy? Leave it alone, Dani,” Emă warned, standing up and walking towards her younger sister so she could look her in the eye. </p><p>“Are you happy?” Emă asked.</p><p>“Happy isn’t the same as being satisfied,” </p><p>She imitated a buzzing sound, “Nope! <em> Are you happy </em>?” </p><p>“Fine, sure, technically, but--,”</p><p>“But what?”</p><p>Daniela looked away, breaking the eye contact, “Ma could have a life partner. She deserves to have the love she puts out returned to her.”</p><p>Emă tried to bite back her smile, genuinely finding Daniela’s reasoning heartwarming, “Now you just wanna be her favorite.” </p><p>“Please. I’m her favorite now,” Daniela scoffed, loosening up again, “Or, I will be when I do something right for once.”</p><p>“When fish fly maybe!” Emă laughed, “Tiffany is her favorite if we’re being honest.”</p><p>Their youngest sister blushed at that.</p><p>“Emă--,” Daniela began, meeting her sister’s eyes again, hoping to convince her, to use different words this time around. </p><p>But she stopped when Emă reached into the sleeve of her own hood, producing a handkerchief; she reached out and used the thin piece of fabric to wipe off some of the blood drying on the corner of Daniela’s mouth and cheeks. Daniela frowned, unable to find comfort in the well-intended gesture.</p><p>“I love you. And you as well, Tiff. There is nothing wrong. Now clean up, porridge-head. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the mess you trailed in.”</p><p>Dani’s frown deepened, and Tiffany chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>She spotted Pisces in the sky when she went out onto the castle’s main balcony. </p><p>The air was cold, and Daniela’s hair - still damp from her bath - made her shiver despite the layers of clothing she piled on for the night. </p><p>Her sisters were asleep now, though she wanted to bother them so badly to look at the stars with her. That was another family activity they had as young, newly-turned creatures. Mother would point out the different constellations, vivid in the darkness, and tell them their Greek origins, something they all shared.</p><p>Daniela missed it, missed her mother’s soothing voice in their ears, lulling them to sleep and ridding them of nightmares. She stared up at the V-shaped formulation, trying to recall her favorite stories. Her sign was Aries, but the story of Pisces had been her most beloved.</p><p>So lost in thought, she neglected to hear the soft padding of incoming footsteps, and gasped when she felt a large hand rest on the back of her head, enveloping the crown of her head in warmth.</p><p>She closed her eyes at the touch.</p><p>“Hi, Ma,”</p><p>“Your hair is wet, darling. You’ll get sick if you stay out here and let the cold air dry it,” </p><p>Daniela reached behind her, placing her hand on top of her mother’s. </p><p>“What are you doing out here so late anyway?” Alcina asked; her tone was like honey, and Daniela was jolted decades into the past. </p><p>“Ma, can you tell me about Pisces?” she asked abruptly; she sounded like a little girl again, so young, with her whole life ahead of her. She turned to face Alcina, craning her neck so she could look up at her mother’s face. </p><p>Her expression told her that Alcina had not been expecting the request.</p><p>“Don’t you remember? I’d tell you that tale over and over,” Alcina smiled, fondly recalling the memory.</p><p>Daniela nodded, “Of course I do, I just...I want to hear you speak.”</p><p>If Emă and Tiffany witnessed Daniela’s softer side, they would never let her hear the end of it. She reserved this for Alcina, and Alcina alone, whenever she craved for her mother’s attention and affection. Right now, she wanted to re-know the immortalized fish she glanced up at when Alcina wasn’t at her side. </p><p>“You can always ask me to tell you a story to keep you company, lovebug,” Alcina reassured, “Pisces consists of Aphrodite and her son, Eros,” she started. </p><p>Daniela wrapped her arms around her mother, as far as they could reach. She tried to suppress her shivering, but she was sure Alcina could feel her tremors. Daniela pressed her cheek against the folds of Alcina’s dress, pretending she was that fresh 20-year old in 1829, putting up a steel front and thick brick walls around her heart. Alcina looked the same, not aging a day since the day she took her in, as did Daniela. She didn’t have any lipstick on tonight, and her curls were loose and framed either sides of her face, not styled or tucked into her black hat. </p><p>This was the mother Daniela knew. </p><p>
  <em> She isn’t a monster. </em>
</p><p>“Following the Great War against the titans, came Typhon, son of Mother Earth and Tarturus, and he was sent by Gaia to defeat the gods. After everyone had been alerted by Pan, Aphrodite took her son, Eros, whom she loved very much, and fled. Of course, they could not do it alone, and so they called upon the water nymphs for assistance. With their help, they were able to jump into the river to safety.” Alcina narrated. She stretched out an arm and pointed to the constellation. </p><p>“Do you see the connecting stars? Causing the shape to come to a point? That represents the cord between mother and son so that they would be bound together, making sure they wouldn’t lose each other in the turbulent waters of the Euphrates River.”</p><p>Daniela’s embrace tightened reflexively. The cord between them felt like it was growing longer everyday now. She was afraid Alcina would distance herself altogether in order to protect them - Daniela had had nightmares about an uprising against the looming House Dimitrescu for years. The other three Houses were unlikely to turn on each other, but if they ever did, what then? Her mother was powerful, and she had no doubt Alcina could take on a crowd with pitchforks before her and her sisters ever stepped in. </p><p>But if they ever had to part? Her mother seemed to have forgotten life outside of loneliness. The catalyst for this idea was less than savory, but Daniela thought her mother deserved the world. Alcina deserved the romance and adventure she would read to them from novels, now collecting dust in the vast library. </p><p>And, secondary to her mother, Daniela craved a friend outside of her sisters. Someone who had the capacity to come to love each member, someone who didn’t see her family as monsters, someone they didn’t have to kill for sustenance for once. </p><p><em> That would solve all our problems </em> , Daniela thought, <em> if only there was someone out there who could see past the turbulent waters of our little family, and still willingly tether themselves to us with a cord, so that we may find a safe haven, all of us, together. </em></p><p>She would never admit the heart of the truth to Emă, nor Tiffany, which was probably why Emă could only take a position against it. This proposition was never about just finding Ma a partner - it was part of it, sure, but there was a bigger picture Daniela had been gunning for, one that her prey was able to rip out of her mind’s eye and force her to face. </p><p>Though, she had a feeling her sisters were facing the same turmoil as she. They were just too scared to hurt their mother by asking such questions.</p><p>“Have you fallen asleep?” Alcina’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.</p><p>“Ma, I had a question.”</p><p>“Oh? Well, hopefully I have an answer.”</p><p>“Are you happy?” She echoed Emă’s earlier question.</p><p>Alcina was surprised yet again, though she knew she should come to expect that from her middle child by now.</p><p>“Of course I am, why?”</p><p>“Doesn’t it get lonely?” Daniela asked, “We live in a castle not too far from a village who absolutely hates our guts, and wishes for our downfall everyday. Wouldn’t it be nice if...I don’t know...if there was someone who just came to like us all despite knowing our history and what we do to get by?”</p><p>Alcina pursed her lips; Daniela only got this way when there was something heavy on her heart and mind, and had been dwelling and slowly festering inside of her for a while. </p><p>She never verbalized it but Alcina knew Daniela worried for her well-being as someone who she had saved from a single-parent home. Daniela grew up with a specific image of a nuclear family, had dreamed of it, but had been constantly failed by the men in her life. Still, that image never faded, and when she learned Alcina would be a single-parent to them as well all those years ago, there was an insecurity there that had never been able to find closure.</p><p>Even if Daniela thought the world of her mother, and thought of her as beyond capable, she yearned for a constantly reassuring support system that came from an “outsider” of their family. To calm her own doubts. To soothe the ache of abandonment by those meant to love you because blood was supposed thicker than water.</p><p>“Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, Daniela,” Alcina said, “And I’m sorry if I made you forget that. You three girls are all I will ever need.”</p><p>Alcina meant it, conviction hardening her tone. And Daniela believed her. <em> But imagine if Ma fell in love </em> , the deepest recesses of her mind thought, <em> it would certainly lift the fog of boredom here at the great Castle Dimitrescu. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! I will die on the secretly-soft!Dani hill.</p><p>Let’s be friends on my socials!</p><p>IG (I make art!): sardoniquewriter<br/>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. jack of all trades</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You are introduced, as well as the reason for your burning passion against the Lady, instilled in you since childhood. Daniela and Tiffany have a bit of a heart-to-heart as they leave the village marketplace.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My gratitude is boundless for the kudos and comments on the first chapter! Much love to everyone, xoxo</p>
<p>Find the playlist for the fic here!: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=3Mf4no2QRh6zQAHs-mTGMw</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When you found out about the village’s most recent death, you produced no reaction. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When you found out it was a distant blood relative, you felt the tiniest of muscles in the corner of your mouth twitch, but nonetheless, there had been no overt reaction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You mindlessly played with the plastic choker wrapped around your neck, musing on the news. Benedikte had that coming as the pervert you knew he was. He probably pissed off some harbinger of death with some disgusting sexual remark, earning him a slice to the throat, and a slow, painful demise - you felt no remorse, no pity, no sadness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The anger in your heart burned brighter for more important things.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As you made your recipe for sweet milk and waited for the coffee brewer to finish so you could start some semblance of a breakfast, you eyed the moving boxes littering the rest of your nearly empty apartment space. The words of your trainer echoed in your head: </p>
<p>“<em> You are a vampire slayer, first and foremost, employed by the supernatural division here at Umbrella Corp. so that you may eliminate our biggest threat. Don’t ever lose sight of our mission, and the vision you and all of our members share </em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Those were his closing sentences to you the day you graduated from your training. That had been two weeks ago, and there wasn’t another moment to lose. You were to move to a small village in Romania now, the same one your familial roots settled. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You differed from the other operatives you were employed alongside, not just because you were the only one within your division, but because you and Lady Alcina Dimitrescu actually shared brief history. </p>
<p>Which was why the Corp thought you were perfect - you didn’t need to be fueled by vengeance in order to execute a successful killing, but it sure as hell helped. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You would have gone rogue and eliminated her just the same, but having an influential corporation backing you made security - and your ability to eat - much easier. Your parents had been the first to encourage you to jump on this opportunity when the Corp. and their goals to rid the world of and study the threat of non-human entities were first established; you whole-heartedly believed that if your parents had not been so heavily, financially affected by endless grief and devastation inflicted by the House Dimitrescu, they might have made a great team, and taken her down together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But alas, that would not be how your life would play out. You just considered yourself lucky that Dimitrescu was generous enough to leave at least a few family members breathing so that your existence would be made possible, and for you and Umbrella to finally find each other. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You, who would get the job done. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The microwave alerted you that the milk was done heating, as did the coffee brewer. You rummaged through a box labeled ‘Fragile’ that had yet to be sealed with packing tape for a mug, and when your fingers wrapped around a ceramic handle, you carefully pulled it from its cozy position and returned to the counter so you could mix the two drinks together, and dilute the strong espresso.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You moved one of the larger moving boxes containing clothes next to a window, and sat right on top, nestling the mug quickly warming your palm. Looking out at the suburban view outside of your apartment, you breathed in the Los Angeles air for what you mentally prepared would be your last time, both living in, and seeing, the Americas. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You had no idea what other sort of dangers awaited you when your plane landed - the Corp and your trainer drilled lessons and strategies and scenarios into you as best as they could, but they couldn’t teach you everything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You recalled the small sketch you kept against your bosom so that you would never forget your goals: To eliminate the threat of the Dimitrescu matriarch from the face of the Earth. You took out the sketch now, a small, worn painted portrait you’ve since laminated that had been passed down in your family since the first tragedy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your nostrils flared and your jaw tightened as soon as you laid eyes on the artistic rendition you had spent your entire life looking at. You studied Dimitrescu’s features, her high brow, her yellow eyes, and mocking smile. You had yet to see her in person, but this face was so embedded into your memory, you were convinced her real face couldn’t have been far off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was a murderer, a monster, a demon; your family drilled that hatred into you, and the knowledge that she was your main antagonist in this life, from a very young age. She had been your bloodline’s mortal enemy ever since she murdered one of your ancestors nearly two centuries ago, a young mother from a well-established home who had been employed as a distillery maid at the castle a few years before Lady Dimitrescu seized reign of the House. She had brought nothing but devastation and poverty following your bloodline since, eliminating several women and some men, and eventually driving the family out of the village they called home for years before Dimitrescu ever came along. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You were taught the horrors and the pain she inflicted on all the other neighboring families, and you couldn’t understand how death <em> wouldn’t </em> solve everyone’s problems. Now, here you were, with a heavy task on your shoulders, doing what no one else in your family tree could attempt due to the sheer dangers and financial and temporal demands, carrying out a 200-year old promise to avenge your family’s honor and name. You would take her head for all the lives she took, and all the lives she ruined. For your <em> own </em>life as well. This was your purpose. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even then, the red-lipped smirk on her sketched face seemed to taunt you - <em> I ruined your family </em> . <em> I am the very reason they know devastation </em> , she seemed to say, <em> come and find me </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You returned the picture into your sports bra so it laid snugly against your breast, right above your beating heart, and you swore, you would answer her call.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*** </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The market had been bustling during noon, but had since died down comfortably enough for Daniela and Tiffany to be able to shapeshift into village-friendly personas, which were essentially slightly different human forms with kinder and less bloodier appearances, and take a leisurely stroll.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone thought they lived in the next town over on the other side of the forest, though no one had ever been brave enough to verify, since Castle Dimitrescu was only a stone’s away to the west. They were able to fool the villagers into believing they were regular humans who came here for certain exclusive goods that were only produced in this specific village, rather than the actual witches whom Alcina called her daughters.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It worked, which was all that mattered, and allowed them to poke their curious noses into the realm that was mundane human life. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela had a large basket in one hand filled with ingredients she purchased from the local farmer, and she also wore a dark red-velvet hood to protect from the slight cold. The people they were passing by slowly dwindled as they made their way home, and Tiffany wouldn’t stop her teasing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You look like Little Red when you’re really the Wolf,” Tiffany said, finding the irony humorous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It was the only hood I had that wasn’t black, all right?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Say, would you like me to make you a new one? Perhaps you can choose a different color. You know how darling you’d look in yellow, Dani? Mama would think you were replaced with a changeling!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ha ha,” Daniela drawled, still carrying around the low spirits from the past few nights. <em> Mama… </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was more to this market trip than just a stroll to gather side-dishes for dinner. Daniela needed some alone time with her little sister. With Tiffany as the family’s baby, she was stuck in a limbo desperately trying but failing to reach a certain mental maturity that her sisters had already passed. Therefore, she had a teenager’s mindset most of the time, which, more often than not, affected the accuracy of her hunting. This would prove difficult if trouble ever arose, and Daniela didn’t know why she was so obsessed with the idea of an uprising, but she knew she couldn’t just ignore the nagging feeling that seemed to threaten her whole family, even if she was the only one who wasn’t blind to it. With all the killing they’d done, there were bound to be consequences. And, more personally, who exactly were they outside of their mother?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, what Tiffany lacked in physical strength due to her tinier frame, she more than made up for in stealth, and she had the best memory out of all of them. Her facial recognition was stellar even from her days as a human, and it only improved when she was turned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> How devastating will it be if the faces that passed us by tonight are also the last ones we will see? </em> </p>
<p>Tiffany remembered them all, from the current residents, to the current but dwindling population of maidens in the area, to all the past maidens they had harvested. She never did forget a face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There is something on your mind. What is it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela stopped in her tracks, just before the clearing that would lead to them to the forest path home. She set down her basket full of food, and placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t be afraid to get messy when out on a hunt. You can be way too soft, and when you’re firm it’s not firm enough. And use that sickle more, it’s why we have it on ourselves at all times,” Daniela said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany wasn’t sure where this was coming from; she slowly nodded, “Oh...kay?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“When someone’s coming at you, you have to break out into moths right away. It’ll incur less damage, and give you more surface area over your prey, since you can swarm and overwhelm him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dani, I know--,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Look at me and tell me you won’t copy me. I’m reckless, and I have my own way of doing things but that doesn’t mean my strategies will work for you or even Emă,” Daniela loosened her grip on Tiffany when her eyes widened in confusion at this spontaneous lesson, “And remember, if anything happens to Emă and me...or Ma...I want you to promise me that you’ll remember the bastard’s face, and hold the inner part of the sickle at angle so you can behead them clean. Promise me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay! I promise! But where is this coming from?” Tiffany asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nowhere,” Daniela released her, “I’m just trying to be a good sister.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s about time,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela nodded, ignoring the snarky comment, and bent over to retrieve the basket from the ground. She resumed her walking and looked back at Tiffany.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What should we make to--,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, Dani--,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dani yelped when her body slammed against something, though she barely faltered due to her inconspicuous superhuman strength.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But <em> you </em> did. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the fuck!” you both exclaimed in unison. You recovered quickly, your fighting instincts nearly taking over before your brain assured you there was no apparent danger. You glanced up, finding a pair of tall, young blonde women - one within your age range and the other much younger - studying you curiously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The younger one was the first to make a noticeable move when she straightened her back - she had never seen you here before. And your smell. It was new and foreign, not to mention modern.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I-I’m sorry,” you quickly say, feeling like there was something unique about them, and that it was probably best to play it safe. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela and Tiffany exchanged glances; Tiffany smiled at you, and offered you a hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, please excuse my sister. You really can’t take her anywhere. Say, is it just me or have we not seen you ‘round here before?” Tiffany was more than certain you were new. Her wariness was dangerous, but still, you put on a cheery disposition as you took her hand and allowed her to hoist you back up to your feet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’d be right. I just moved here today,” you explained.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh! A new girl!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, I guess I am,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some of your small carry-on bags were on the ground, and both you and the younger girl you were speaking to went to pick them up and dust them off. Daniela eyed you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You must be headed to the marketplace,” Tiffany chatted, “But I’m afraid most of the vendors should be leaving by now for dinnertime. The moon - if it wasn’t new - would be visible, and high in the sky by now,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, does this path lead to the marketplace? I was on my way to visit an old relative of mine, mother of Benedikte? I’m sure you’ve heard, he was the victim of a gruesome murder the other night,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You noticed that they exchanged a quick look, and if you had blinked, you would have missed it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You two are related?” Dani spoke up. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Unfortunately,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why unfortunately?” Tiffany asked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He had it coming if you ask me. Probably finally picked on the wrong girl. I always thought his life expectancy was 30 years max.” There was no harm in telling half the truth—you didn’t want them to think you thought his death was a tragic loss, not if he had interacted with them at some point, which was likely. These women were beautiful and Benedickte would have certainly noticed them, perhaps even tried to make them his own. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ha! Is this some sort of trap?” Daniela said, eyes narrowing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Trap?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, you and him were still related, which would automatically align you with him by association. And his death is an unsolved mystery. And you’re <em> new </em> here. I have no reason to believe you’re not just here to collect dirt, stranger” Daniela explained. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You adjusted a heavy carry-on bag at your hip and matched Daniela’s narrow gaze. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I mean...there’s no reason to feel nervous if you did nothing wrong. But just between you and me, even if you did…” you lowered your voice to a whisper as you cupped a hand around your mouth, “...your secret would be safe with me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela’s eyes widened, brow raising, a plan rapidly brewing in her head. Any inhibitions she had before rapidly shed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m here as a courtesy to his mom. I’m the only family on her side that’s not either dead in a ditch or too occupied overseas. He’s lucky his mom is someone I respect or I’d spit on his grave,” you continued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A wide grin spread across Daniela’s face; she looked almost maniacal as she stepped closer to you. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We must hold a feast, and toast to his demise!” she declared.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> OH-KAY </em> …” Tiffany interjected, pulling Daniela away, “Pardon her. My sister is a weirdo because our mother spoils us rotten and she’s never told her to shut up a day in her life. You can go about your merry way if you so please,” then mumbled, “And she thinks <em> I’m </em>the immature one.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela wrestled her arm back, her eyes appearing to glow yellow as her gaze bore into yours, “You. You’re cool. And you smell nicer than our Wiccan spice rack. Let’s be friends.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> Dani </em>,” Tiffany gritted through her teeth, and you watched as they played a brief tug-of-war with her red hood. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You couldn’t help but let out a soft, albeit nervous, chuckle at their sisterly exchange; as an only child yourself, you missed out on those kinds of moments, so it was always nice to see them happen before you, “I sure do need a friend if I’m to move out here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, will this be your permanent residence? You’re not just here for that libertine’s funeral?” Daniela was practically vibrating with excitement. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yup. That’s what these bags are for!” you bounced them for good measure.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are a breath of fresh moldavite. That man said horrible things about our Ma and you <em> hate </em> him despite being your blood-relative,” she glanced down at your neck, noticing your black choker; impulsively, Daniela reached out and touched the pads of her fingers to the looped plastic wire, just above the column of your throat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> This woman’s fingers are like ice </em>, you thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela’s other hand flew to her own neck, fingers landing on nothing since her silver choker with the ruby stone was absent in this disguise. She met your eyes and grinned, “I approve of your fashion choices,” she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany turned away, rubbing a finger over her brow, cringing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You laughed, this time genuinely, “Uh, thank you? Look, I’m sorry he said things about your Ma, and forgive me for assuming, but it seems like you don’t have many friends around here, either.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are forgiven,” Daniela rushed, returning the hand she had at your throat to her side, “So, how do we proceed? Should we slit our palms and make an offering to solidify our newfound friendship?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uh…” <em> These women are definitely far from normal </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany gently smacked the back of Daniela’s head, causing her to yelp in surprise. “<em> How about we start with our names! </em>” Tiffany suggested, voice high in pitch, and forcing a smile from ear to ear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sounds awesome,” you agreed, smiling and shaking your head; you stuck out your hand and stated your name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela and Tiffany studied your hand briefly, unaccustomed to such friendly manners, before Daniela took it in both of hers and shook it vigorously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I am named Daniela. My mom and my sisters often call me Dani. This one is our little Tiffany, and yes, we have one older sister and her name is Crizantemă but you can just call her Emă when you meet her eventually,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany eyed Daniela warily, unsure why her older sister was being so damn gregarious when all she wanted was a simple chat with the new human. This was risky and dangerous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How about we continue this lovely conversation tomorrow? I will be here a while, you know,” you said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela began to stick out her bottom lip in a pout; Tiffany answered for her instead, desperate to relieve themselves of social obligations.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, we must hurry home as well. Mama and Emă must be getting worried,” Tiffany said, though it seemed directed more towards Daniela than you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You said your goodbyes and parted ways, with you heading off in the direction they told you to go instead; you had a feeling they would occupy your thoughts the rest of the evening as you anticipated the future plans they implied for all of you - if you came here to eliminate someone, you might as well experience some sort of social enjoyment during your stay, and maybe even gather some sensitive intel. They truly seemed like nice women. A bit eager and awkward, but nice nevertheless.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela and Tiffany were halfway into the forest when Tiffany ran ahead of her, and stopped right in front, facing her sister and blocking her path.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, one minute you’re telling me I’m too soft and the next, you...you…” she wasn’t sure how to describe it, “...acted the way you did? What in the world was that back there?” Tiffany demanded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela snorted, “Every time you’re mad and try to lecture me, I just imagine smoke coming out of a babbling baby’s ears and I can’t help but snicker.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Stop snickering! This isn’t funny!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What are you berating me for? Why weren’t <em> you </em> being friendly like me? Your attempt at chatting was so <em> boring </em>! Don’t you want to be her friend?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, first of all, I was giving her directions. Secondly, <em> friend </em> ? You know why she smelled so nice? She was a maiden. And you know what we’re out of? <em> Maidens </em>,” Tiffany said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela’s jaw fell, “I can’t believe you. She took our side over her stupid dead relative and you want to turn her into wine? Don’t you see she’s perfect?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Perfect for <em> what </em>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Perfect for <em> Ma </em>!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Silence. Tiffany could only blink.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This...y-you were serious about what you were saying the other night, weren’t you? You wanna find Mama a pet,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela nodded enthusiastically to get her point across, “Ding ding ding! Why would you think I was kidding about that? I was dead serious. Ma needs a companion. And we need some fucking friends. She was <em> so </em> nice. Imagine all the nice maidens we’ve killed. Maybe, in another lifetime, they might have liked us, too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany sighed, “You’re forgetting we don’t even look like our real selves right now. That poor woman is going to find out the truth and we will suffer for it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If she hates us, then we kill her. But right now, she’s perfect. Ma...Oh, Tiff, Ma would love her, I just know it. I just know it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are so messed up. One girl shows you a bit of courtesy and suddenly she’s our step-mom. I can’t wait for Emă to hear about this. No, I can’t wait for Mama to hear about this.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany slowly walked ahead, uncaring if Daniela followed anymore. <em> Who is this Dani and what has she done with the old one? Actually, no, she’s always been batshit. It’s my fault I underestimated her batshittery. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Who said anything about a step-mom? ‘Ma’s girlfriend’ would do. We don’t know if she’s disposable yet, anyway. And I’m the one getting ahead of myself?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany didn’t answer; soon, she turned into a swarm of moths, disappearing into the darkness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela scoffed, pitying Tiffany for failing to understand just how brightly the Piscean stars were shining down on them tonight.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading!</p>
<p>Let’s be friends on my socials!</p>
<p>IG (I make art!): sardoniquewriter<br/>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. friendship chokers & satanic rituals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tiffany tells a hesitant Emă about Daniela’s matchmaking plans; the girls also manage to rope in another beloved family member into their shenanigans. Alcina is just, confused.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always, thank you for every comment and kudos and hit. Any words I type here would not be able to describe how grateful I am for your time. So, I’ll just let the following chapter do all the talking.</p><p>Find the playlist for the fic here!: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=3Mf4no2QRh6zQAHs-mTGMw</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Not even the smell of their hearth, freshly piled with chopped pinewood, could soothe Tiffany’s worries for the evening, not after what she and Daniela briefly talked about in the middle of the forest. </p><p> </p><p>When she reformed, she was in the comfort of her own identity again, shedding the disguise to be saved for another tomorrow - a tomorrow that undoubtedly involved that new woman. </p><p> </p><p>Was she being stuck-up about it, narrow-minded, or conservative? Daniela was four years older than her - a few hundred, in reality - but that certainly didn’t always make her the most mature out of their group of three, far from it; Emă rarely had an aloof moment so the role of ‘careless sibling’ always fell on either her or Daniela. Tiffany was happy not to be in the spotlight this time. <em> Dani’s impulsivity can get us all killed </em>. </p><p> </p><p>She went straight to her room to change into something more comfortable for dinner; Alcina always liked for them to look presentable during the occasions they shared as a family, and since those moments were already dangerously dwindling, Tiffany wasn’t going to be the one to protest traditions for something as trivial and selfish as clothing preference, and upset their mother. If they were humans who had to worry about high blood pressure, or cortisol levels, at all, Daniela would be the sole source of that rise. Alcina would have a lot on her plate tonight, in more ways than one.</p><p> </p><p>They were probably in the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>For once, Tiffany wished they had maids for reasons beyond the crimson drink that pulsed throughout their bodies. It would eliminate the hard work that preceded the actual meal, though, she found comfort in the fact that the hard work would be her mother’s. She was just so hungry after the human encounter, and smelling her virgin blood - and <em> of course, she had to leave Dani with the basket of simple ingredients </em>. What a foolish move. There was no way to predict if Daniela would take her sweet time just to annoy them all, or if she would choke down the whole basket just to spite them - her, specifically. </p><p> </p><p>There was a good chance she wouldn’t, though, considering her recent changes of heart. Tiffany’s eyes widened, and she nearly missed a step as she descended the main staircase leading to the main room - <em> what if Dani went back, and convinced that girl to return with her? </em></p><p> </p><p>Tiffany shook her head when she was at the base of the stairs. No, Daniela can’t be <em> that </em> impulsive, she can’t be <em> that </em>stupid. Mama would kill that woman to feed them; none of them had had a fresh batch of maiden blood in a week now. </p><p> </p><p><em> Wow, look at me, worrying for that pathetic human’s life. Dani’s hubris is rubbing off on me </em>.</p><p> </p><p>This was stupid - if her mother asked, Tiffany would be a snitch. Damn the consequences of some painful stitches later. </p><p> </p><p>It always took her nearly twenty minutes to actually reach the kitchen when the occasion called for it, a spacious area on the opposite side of the castle facing the majority of mountains surrounding them. Any smoke from the stoves and cooking food would therefore be directed out in that general open airspace. As she suspected, she heard familiar voices coming from the other side of the door, that of her Mama and Emă and...a male voice?</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany perked, and sped-walked, pushing through the kitchen doors. The muffled conversation, now clearer, quieted to a murmur at the sudden outburst, but quickly wound back up again when Alcina and Emă saw that it was Tiffany.</p><p>Tiffany looked around, and her smile grew even wider when she saw Uncle Heisenberg standing next to Alcina, leaning against a marble counter littered with a menagerie of sauces and herbs. </p><p> </p><p>“Why, evening!” she greeted, the brightness returning to her features. Tiffany ran to Alcina first; she and Daniela had been gone for most of the day at the marketplace, longer than normal, and Tiffany had always been the most expressively attached.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you have a good time, darling?” Alcina removed a glove and pinched Tiffany’s cheek, softened by her wide smile; then Alcina paused, looked around, and sighed. Emă spoke for her mother, noticing the very apparent absence of the self-proclaimed family clown, “What the hell has Dani gotten into this time?” she asked, tone bordering monotonous. </p><p> </p><p>Tiffany stiffened, hand raising to her face to touch the area just beside her mouth that Alcina lovingly pinched, “She told me to go ahead. I-I’m not sure what she did after I left.” She went over to give Heisenberg a hug, forgetting the date of the last time they were all together like this - she admitted Dani did have a point in their lack of cozy gatherings.</p><p> </p><p>Emă shook her head for emphasis, “Look, I love Dani <em> so much </em>, but that girl is both fly and honey - sweet and troublesome.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t forget a helluva sticky situation to deal with,” Heisenberg added, <em> tsk- </em>ing. Alcina shot him a look, which was a lot more intimidating when the one giving the look was a whole average person taller.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re one to speak as the main creature who often encourages her misbehaviors,” Alcina quipped, crossing her arms. </p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg laughed, “I can’t argue with that! These two took after you,” he said, gesturing between Tiffany and a brooding Emă, who was already raising an eyebrow to match her mother’s default expression. </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Dani, however, she's a chip off this ol’ block. She has the true heart of a hunter, that one. Almost like a wolf,” </p><p> </p><p>“‘Chip off the old block.’ You could’ve just said you’re both blockheads” Tiffany joked, which made Emă snort and laugh loudly at the unexpected way she twisted their uncle’s words against him. Heisenberg raised his hands in defeat, not about to jab the eternal 16-year-old and her love of puns, not when Alcina was chuckling into her hand too.</p><p> </p><p>But Alcina sobered, “All right, all right, jests aside. It is approaching dinnertime and I’m assuming Daniela has the raw sides and entrees. She’s also never late when food’s concerned.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can go search for her, Mom,” Emă offered. </p><p> </p><p>“Have Uncle Heis accompany you, sweetheart. You’ll find her faster,” Alcina suggested. </p><p> </p><p><em> Shit </em>. Tiffany grew nervous, not really sure how this would play out. She felt so confident earlier, thinking snitching on her rambunctious sister would be easy. Was Dani right? Was she too soft when it came to conflict? </p><p> </p><p>“Wait, she can’t have been far. We had already made it halfway into the woods--Let’s just...give her a chance to make it back. It would be awful if you went out just as she’s returning,” Tiffany rushed. Emă shot her a suspicious look, which Tiffany quickly looked away from. Another mistake. She could already see, as well as hear, how the interrogation would play out.</p><p> </p><p>“Tiff, come with me to the washroom, yeah? We should clean our hands for when Dani brings in the goods,” Emă said, tone calm and leveled. That’s when Tiffany feared her the most, at her most harmless-seeming state.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, wash up. Your sister should be back soon. I hope,” Alcina agreed, though there was uncertainty in her tone saying the last two words. Heisenberg leaned further against the counter, tipping his hat upwards so Alcina could get a better look at his watchful gaze.</p><p> </p><p>“I think you worry about Dani too much. You know, if there’s one kid you shouldn’t fret so much about, it’s Daniela,”</p><p> </p><p>“You say that with such conviction, I can’t help but receive it as sarcasm,”</p><p> </p><p>“Mm, I mean, yes, she’s a little outside the box, there’s no denying that, but all I’m saying is that it’ll be a quality that’ll save her one day. I wouldn’t see it as a liability that she’s a headstrong girl who goes for what she wants,”</p><p> </p><p>Alcina hummed, considering her brother’s words, “I know you’re most fond of her, and you two have a close bond which touches me rather deeply. But you must understand, often what Dani wants and what I want are two totally different things. She has much to learn in the realm of leadership if we want our House to continue thriving.”</p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg shrugged, “Who knows? She might just surprise you this time, and lead you to the exact thing on this Earth you’re looking for.”</p><p> </p><p>She drew her brows together, “Sounds like you might know something, Heis,”</p><p> </p><p>“Call it a dog’s intuition,”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, woof.”</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, on the way to the washroom, Emă cornered Tiffany beside a large bust, located far enough from the kitchen and down and around several corners which provided them with the privacy Emă intended they had.</p><p> </p><p>“You know something. Or something happened. Spill it, Tiff. I refuse to have Mom go to sleep worried over Miss Attention tonight. <em> Again </em>.” Emă demanded in a hiss.</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany whimpered, suppressing the urge to cry. <em> That damned human. Why the hell did we have to cross paths with her? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Fuck, don’t <em> cry </em> ! I’m not gonna hurt you!” Emă said in a panic; she didn’t want to have the middle child missing <em> and </em> the youngest bawling in her arms; <em> she </em>would be in trouble then. </p><p> </p><p>“We...we met a human tonight,” Tiffany confessed, mumbling against her hand, as if the words would spill forth and bring about destruction like the afflictions from Pandora’s box if she didn’t cover her mouth at least partially.</p><p> </p><p>“...What? A human?”</p><p> </p><p>“Dani. That thing she was going on about the other night. About how Mama should have a girlfriend--,”</p><p> </p><p>Emă’s eyes widened at that, “Daniela did <em> what </em>?!” she shrieked. Tiffany gasped and her hands shot forward to slam against her sister’s mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Bitch </em> ! Shut <em>up</em>! Oh, my gods,” Tiffany swallowed, throat feeling dry, brain running with thoughts faster than her mouth could carry, “I left Dani behind because she was spouting and I just...I couldn’t listen to her wild ideas anymore so I flew ahead. I don’t know if she went back and is returning with the human or if--,”</p><p> </p><p>Emă grabbed Tiffany’s wrist and forced her hand away from her mouth, “That might not be a bad thing. I hope she does come back with her. Is she a maiden? That would be the most useful thing Dani’s done for us all in a long while.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, Emă, no! I mean, yes, the female human we met is a maiden, anyone like us would be able to smell her blood from a mile away. But Dani...damn it, I don’t know. She...the human just moved here and was really nice to us, so now I just don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Even better, no one would miss her.”</p><p> </p><p>“I...perhaps, but...gods, <em> I don’t know </em>, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> What </em> is there to know? We survive on maidens for basic nutrition. The oxygen levels in virgin blood cell samples are extremely high, which is what we need to stay alive. If we continue eating regular food, we will eventually expire. I don’t know how long we can last but I sure as hell don’t want to find out. Did Dani think of that?” she pushed away, backing into the opposite wall of the narrow hallway. </p><p> </p><p>Tiffany sighed, starting to feel frustrated, “Dani seems to be captivated with the mindset that love is forever, hunger is temporary.”</p><p> </p><p>Emă huffed, crossing her arms, “You know what else will be forever? The scar I intend to give her for wanting to put Mom through her bullshit, all ‘cause she’s bored.”</p><p> </p><p>“Emă, she has good intentions,”</p><p> </p><p>“We won’t survive on good intentions, Tiff. You can’t eat or drink good intentions,”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t we just give Dani a chance on this one? I’ve...I’ve never seen her look so excited for something before,”</p><p> </p><p>“Really? Because I’m sure she looks the same way at some seasoned breast meat, which is what we <em> might </em> be having tonight if our sister isn’t the jester’s advisor for once--,”</p><p> </p><p>They jumped at the sound of slamming doors in the distance. </p><p> </p><p>It sounded like the main entrance to the castle. </p><p> </p><p>Emă and Tiffany looked at each other before bolting, going against their mother’s wishes and running down the corridor, heading for the main room. To save time, they transformed into moths halfway, eager for what might meet them when they arrived at their destination.</p><p> </p><p>They were hit with the overwhelming scent of bear and pine when they rounded the last corner, followed by a resounding, echoing, booming voice, “<em> TONIGHT, WE FEAST ON THE BLOOD OF URSA MAJOR!”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Daniela was covered in dirt and blood, with large patchy portions of her red-velvet hood soaked black. Her blonde hair, temporarily brown from mud water, was wet, stringy, and laid flat against her head and face. The limp bear she dragged in by its leg, and the nearly flattened basket of groceries she dumped beside her feet, fared better than her dress did.</p><p> </p><p>Emă was the first to reform, landing on her feet a few steps from Daniela, who greeted her with a wide, blood-stained smile.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s this I hear about setting Mom up with a maiden?” she demanded, getting straight to the point.</p><p> </p><p>“Aw, can’t you give your little sissy a hug first?” Daniela pouted, dropping the bear’s leg so she could stretch out both arms towards Emă.</p><p> </p><p>Emă took one of Daniela’s bloodied hands in hers, concern etched deeply between her brows.</p><p> </p><p>“Dani, whatever benevolence you may think you’re bringing, I am asking that you rethink it. You may bring the maiden here but only if she is to be harvested,” Emă all but pleaded; Daniela always had a certain twinkle in her eye when she was dead-set on an idea, but with her currently dilated pupils, it was harder to tell - perhaps, Emă thought, she could coax her away before she reached the point of no return.</p><p> </p><p>Though, both she and Tiffany knew, deep down, it would be impossible. </p><p> </p><p>Daniela pulled Emă in for a tight hug, voice muffled as she spoke against the folds of Emă’s hood, into her shoulder, “Ma’s gonna be so happy. We’re gonna be so happy and we’re gonna be okay, I promise. Everything I do is for us, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>Emă returned the hug, though her mind remained unchanged. She could feel how much this meant to Daniela, and she wanted so badly to support her, but she couldn’t foresee anything positive coming from befriending a virgin human, a mere mortal, instead of drinking her. There was a bad feeling that began to flourish deep within Emă, and even though holding her sister close eased some of those troubles, there was a heavy pressure weighing down on her heart, for reasons she couldn’t quite yet decipher.  </p><p> </p><p>“Somehow I doubt that,” Emă said half-jokingly in response, “Are you saying you purposefully get into trouble with our best interests in mind?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela pulled back, holding Emă at an arm’s distance by her shoulders, and breathed deeply through her nose, “Yes. My love for my family can be measured by my mere appearance alone,” she said, gesturing from the top of her head, to the bottom of her tattered dress.</p><p> </p><p>“You must really hate us, then,” Tiffany spoke.</p><p> </p><p>Daniela gasped in feigned offense, “Other side of the spectrum, sweetie. I wrangled a <em> bear </em>for us. Let us feast on--!”</p><p> </p><p>“--the blood of Ursa Major, yes, you said that. And the human? This is a big deal, Dani. We need to discuss this,”</p><p> </p><p>“Right! Oh, Emă, she’s perfect. You know how Ma always tells us…” Daniela cleared her throat, straightening her posture so she appeared taller, and deepened her voice an octave to mimic their mother, “...‘Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb?’”</p><p> </p><p>Emă and Tiffany stood there, nodding slowly, with Tiffany stifling the urge to laugh at the silly and hyperbolic impression.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, but you almost always end up remembering the incomplete version.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you know that piece of shit fucker I drank a few nights ago? Well, turns out they’re <em> related </em> . Yet, she’s glad he’s <em> dead </em>. She was on our side, pledging her full support to a pair of strangers she barely met despite considering the possibility that we were responsible,” Daniela explained rushedly. </p><p> </p><p>“Then <em> you </em>started shitting rainbows and unicorns,” Tiffany added, which made Emă snort, “This was right after the lecture she gave me on being too soft, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela went on, ignoring her, “Think about it. She’s the type of gal Ma has been waiting for. She’s new here, doesn’t know enough about our history and reputation to be scared of us, and oh! <em> And she wears a choker. </em>” </p><p> </p><p>Emă shook her head, not expecting that last addition, “Huh? What does that have to do with anything?” </p><p> </p><p>Tiffany pointed to her and then to Emă’s own silver, large ruby-encrusted choker; all three of them wore one in solidarity with each other. Alcina always loved putting them in matching-anything. </p><p> </p><p>“Look, she thinks we met a kindred spirit,” Tiffany summarized, “Not to mention, we <em> did </em>hit it off pretty well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Daniela agreed, “She is eager to meet with us again.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the shocking part,” Tiffany said to Emă, “Dani was...well, her usual self and the human didn’t appear to have a problem with that. I think she might have even thought it was <em> cool </em>. We should actually be worried.”</p><p> </p><p>Emă gasped dramatically, “You’re right, that <em> is </em>unique.”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela rolled her eyes. She was buzzing with so much energy, she had to ball her hands into fists to keep from using them too much to expressively punctuate her speech. </p><p> </p><p>She shivered, though it was less from the cold than it was from trying to contain her excitement, which she was brimming of. </p><p> </p><p>“Shit, Tiffany, close the doors,” Emă said. </p><p> </p><p>Alcina finally arrived in the main room just as Tiffany locked the entrance way, with Heisenberg trailing not too far behind, from the kitchen during the lull in the sisters’ conversation. Emă buried her face in her hands, having a hard time <em> not </em> picturing her mom with a <em> human </em>by her side now. The image was just so foreign to her, she felt the need to protect their mother from it. </p><p> </p><p>“My darling Daniela, whatever did you get yourself into?” Alcina gasped when she laid her eyes on the state of her middle daughter’s ghastly appearance. </p><p> </p><p>“Mummy!” Daniela exclaimed, cackling like a fool as she ran to greet her. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you hurt?” Alcina didn’t mind a mess but Daniela looked <em> worse than usual </em>.</p><p> </p><p>She arched a quizzical brow when Daniela crashed into her side, squeezing her arms around her torso, the height she reached, as tight as she could. </p><p> </p><p>“My, you’re rather affectionate tonight, lovebug, in front of all of us, too.” Alcina looked up at Emă and Tiffany, “What’s gotten into your sister?”</p><p> </p><p>“I need a drink,” Emă said, rubbing circles on her temples. </p><p> </p><p>“We’re out fresh, remember?” Tiffany said. Emă groaned loudly. </p><p> </p><p>Daniela looked up to see Heisenberg and she could all but screech with glee. </p><p> </p><p>“My family! Everyone is present!” She exclaimed, “Oh, this is all going exactly as I planned. Now even Uncle Heis is here!” </p><p>Daniela released her mother and went to give her uncle a hug, which he received warmly. </p><p> </p><p>“A bear! Miss Dani-girl, you grow stronger everyday. Say, when are we going hunting together next? It’s been a while,” Heisenberg asked, patting Daniela’s back. </p><p> </p><p>Daniela smirked, leaning in and lowering her voice to a whisper, “I have a favor to ask, but I’ll tell you later. It’s a surprise for Ma.”</p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg was intrigued to say the least. He glanced up to find Alcina narrowing her eyes at them. </p><p> </p><p>“Uh, why, yes, Dani, we can go bear-hunting again, absolutely! This old man will teach you all his best wrangling moves,” He said loudly and dramatically in attempts to divert Alcina’s attention. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, lovebug. Not that I don’t like seeing you so happy but I must admit, I’m curious as to what brought this mirth about you?” Alcina expressed. </p><p> </p><p>“Why, <em> you </em>, Ma. That’s all,” Daniela said innocently, locking her hands behind her back. She met Emă’s pained gaze past Alcina, and winked. </p><p> </p><p>“Kiss-ass,” Emă muttered, sticking out her tongue. Tiffany nudged her arm. </p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Daniela clapped her hands together, causing the dried blood staining them to flake at the contact, “Shall we eat?” </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>“What in Dante’s nine circles of hell are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela glanced up to see Emă standing at the doorway of the main living room. </p><p> </p><p>It was way past dinner now, hours into their regular bedtime, which was only around three to five hours anyway. Emă couldn’t sleep, stomach filled with bear meat and blood, and head filled with thoughts of this mysterious human Daniela had already seemed to imply the role of ‘step-mom.’ She was on her way to the library to grab a quick novel to skim through when she noticed the living room lights were switched on. </p><p> </p><p>And so, overcome with curiosity, she peeked through the crack in the door, and found her younger sister, dressed uncharacteristically in a cotton, powder blue night-dress beneath her usual black hood. </p><p> </p><p>She appeared to be weaving something together - it smelled overwhelmingly of pine. </p><p> </p><p>“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been failing miserably,” Daniela said.</p><p> </p><p>“Why would that make me feel better?”</p><p> </p><p>Emă entered the room, and joined Daniela, sitting on the couch while Daniela was seated on the floor before the coffee table - a few bundles of pine leaves littered the surface, along with some brushes and binding agents. A single candle was lit, almost halfway burned, and collecting a puddle of wax in its metal bowl.</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t sleep? You wouldn’t be joining me otherwise,” Daniela smirked, engrossed in her work, whatever it was.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t hang out with my sister? But yeah, no, I couldn’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about...your idea,” Emă confessed.</p><p> </p><p>Daniela winced, dropping something that landed on the table with a soft clatter. She took her mildly injured finger into her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you answer my question now? What are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela eyed her, “You’ll make fun of me if I tell you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dani, just tell me,”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m making--I’m <em> trying </em> to make a choker,” Daniela grumbled, releasing her finger from her mouth with a <em> pop </em>. </p><p> </p><p>Emă snorted, “I’m <em> sorry </em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean!” Daniela rushed to remedy, “I mean, that’s a thing right? Friendship bracelets and whatnot? That’s a human tradition to honor the sacred platonic bonds they hold with someone? It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, yes, <em> bracelets </em> are a thing. I’ve never heard of a friendship <em> choker </em>, though...don’t you think you’re overdoing it a little? You might scare the poor girl away,”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela shook her head, feeling so sure of herself, “I won’t. This one’s different. I just know it. She will love Ma. And us. I will win her over with my irresistible personality then let Ma take over from there,” she paused, “And if that doesn’t work, I’ll make a sacrifice to Satan or something. Dude owes me a few outstanding favors anyway from the last few rituals he didn’t deliver on.” </p><p> </p><p>Emă watched as Daniela tried and failed to string together the weak pine leaves. Bits of individual pine needles littered the floor and Daniela’s lap. Some found their way into her hair, and Emă reached out to untangle them from blonde strands. </p><p> </p><p>A gentle knock caused for them to both look up. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah, I thought I heard little mice,”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela grinned, “Hi, Uncle Heis,”</p><p> </p><p>He made his way over to the couch, removing his large-brimmed hat. </p><p> </p><p>“Arts and crafts? My, this is new,” he observed. Emă shrugged, now mindlessly braiding a section of Daniela’s hair.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m starting to think we should’ve introduced her to a human foreigner a <em> long </em>time ago,” Emă quipped. </p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg perked at that, “Human, you say?”</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck, that’s right, we haven’t told you!” Daniela dropped what she was doing, and turned towards their uncle, telling him everything without so much as stopping for a breath.</p><p> </p><p>When she was done, Heisenberg leaned back against the couch, a pensive look on his face. He peered at each of the girls above his shades, before removing them entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“And that favor? How may I be of service to this...special maiden?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll need someone to escort her to the castle. I was thinking you could give her a ride on your back or something,” Daniela suggested.</p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg’s eyes widened, brows shooting up.</p><p> </p><p>“I have many horses, Dani-girl. I shall lend you all you want amongst those,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Ohh-kay,” Daniela sighed, “I just thought it would be cool if we got a <em> werewolf </em> for her to ride on. How kickass would that be?”</p><p> </p><p>“She’ll be in for big-enough surprises when she discovers what kind of creatures we are, that we are not her kind,” Emă pointed out, “Also, has anyone considered that we should tell <em> Mom </em>herself about this? She’s gonna be Cupid’s poor victim, after all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hold on, you girls are telling me that the human doesn’t know the truth about us? Nor does Alcina know about her?” Heisenberg asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I debated on making it a surprise. Like a blind date. That’s romantic, right?” Daniela said, “But if we’re going with that, I guess we’ll have to visit the village again and talk to her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait,” Emă cut in, “Let me take the lead on this one. Dani here’s already making fucking...friendship bracelets--,”</p><p> </p><p>“Chokers,” Daniela corrected, holding up her incomplete project.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, <em> chokers </em>. She’s already making chokers based on a five-minute interaction. So...as hesitant as I am about this disastrous idea, there seems to be nothing we can do to stop you. And I’d rather we do this right. For Mom,” Emă said, “We’ll catch Tiffany up in the morning, and we can head for the village an hour after sundown. Does that sound good to everyone?” </p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg replaced his hat on his head and tipped it towards her, while Daniela gave her a salute, “Yes, ma’am!” </p><p> </p><p>With that, she managed to prick her finger on a pine needle yet again amidst her excitement.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Progressing slowly but surely! Thank you for your patience. I promise the wait for Alcina x Reader moments will be worth it ;). </p><p>Let’s be friends on my socials!</p><p>IG (I make art!): sardoniquewriter<br/>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. you can't spell athame without me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The girls decide that the way into your heart is through your stomach (it’s okay, they really mean ‘food’ this time). Alcina is faced with the idea of a significant other, and what that could mean for the future of the House.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy 25th anniversary of RE Day! I wish I could have posted this last Sunday like I intended but I’m in uni and it was finals week and I got caught up in five of my essays instead, oof. Thank you everyone for your patience and all the love - y’all and this fic are the brighter points in my otherwise busy student life :’)</p>
<p>Fic playlist here!: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=3Mf4no2QRh6zQAHs-mTGMw</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The girls couldn’t hide their secret plan from their mother forever. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not when they were using the kitchen for more humanly activities, like baking bread. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is stupid. Why can’t we just summon bread?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you so lazy that you can’t bring yourself to make one damn loaf? For the woman you’re already calling our step-mom?” Emă placed a hand on her hip.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can summon a demon and shapeshift into whatever we want but we can’t make magical bread? Logic lives...not in this castle, that’s for sure,” Daniela frowned at Emă, and hoisted herself up to sit on the counter. Emă glared at her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This bread will already taste like ass at this rate, we don’t need it tasting like </span>
  <em>
    <span>yours</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Tiffany held up her hands, ever so often the mediator between her older sisters when their strong personalities clashed and they bickered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It is already past noon. If we want to put this plan into motion by evening, we need to finish this in the next couple hours. Bread takes a while, especially the one you guys chose.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă scoffed, “If we are to cultivate a decent relationship with the human, we need to approach it perfectly. There cannot be any room for mistakes. Making bread for someone implies a multitude of things. By handing her a basket of homemade bread, the human will understand based on the results alone the hard work, the care, and the thought that we put into making something for her to eat. It is a love language. So Dani, stop eating the fucking sugar!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela gave her the middle finger while also defiantly shoving a spoonful of sugar into her mouth with her other hand; sugar crystals dusted her chin, cheeks, mouth, and lap. Emă groaned and rubbed at her temples. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t make me crack open the emergency stash of maiden’s blood we have down in the cellar. Damn the consequences,” Emă warned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Emă, no, Mama will be pissed,” Tiffany said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom would understand. All I’d have to tell her is one word: Dani,” she paused and stared at a paragraph from the open cookbook perched on the corner of the unlit stove. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Human food is fascinating in theory, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> in practice. I don’t understand how we ever lived off of it entirely before we turned.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh. Please don’t remind me,” Daniela rolled her eyes; she hopped off the counter, cradling the sack of sugar like a small baby in one arm—she peered at the cookbook, talking with a small spoon in her mouth, “So…how are we doing this?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă reached over and snatched away the spoon, “We can start by not eating the ingredients we need.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina awoke, confused, to the smell of baking bread. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were no maids, no maidens. Who could possibly be in the kitchen—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her mind went straight to Daniela, who had been acting strangely for the past few days, stranger than the normal dose of strange the whole family knew her to be capable of. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina had already considered where this could have been coming from - Daniela craved for an even deeper and closer maternal relationship, possibly catching up for all those years she spent taking out her repressed anger on men, and the women they harvested. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now, Daniela was entering a more comparably mature phase in her coping mechanisms, more secure in the support system they built together as a family of four—five, counting Heisenberg. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina was well-aware that they needed more family nights, and she had been inconsistent in providing them for the girls, for which she took full responsibility. Alcina had mostly been focused on the winery and maintaining the House nowadays, turning Harvests into pure work days rather than bonding time, which was one of the original purposes the activity served. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Harvests were the last precious time we shared together</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve taken even that away</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She freshened up, changed into a new white dress, reapplied her lipstick, and replaced her hat on her head before heading to the kitchen, following the smell of baking bread.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On the way, she stopped as she passed by the family portrait in the grand corridor leading to the main room. It featured her cozy family of five - Heisenberg insisted it would be incomplete without his presence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It would be six</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Alcina thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>if Mother had shown interest when I told her about it</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But as always, Mother Miranda was busy - as the leading matriarch of the four Houses; Beneviento, Moreau, Heisenberg, and Dimitrescu - Alcina could hardly blame her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the center seat - because she threatened to throw a tantrum and eat the artist before the commission even started if she wasn’t - was Daniela. Behind, also seated was Alcina, with Emă and Tiffany standing on either side of her. Heisenberg, the self-proclaimed ‘cool uncle,’ posed in the background, wearing a cowboy hat in his werewolf form.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heisenberg’s placement brought an artistic asymmetry to the portrait, but that meant there was an empty space on his opposite corner that demanded to be filled to restore scenic balance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina stared at that space for a moment, wondering if their little family would be blessed with an addition. A new daughter? Maybe? Alcina hadn’t taken in a fresh family member in almost a century, with the latest being her little Tiffany in 1922. She said that would be enough, however. Three was more than enough, both to handle and to hold.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Or perhaps...not a daughter. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina felt her cheeks grow warm at the thought, which was rare for a vampiric creature of her kind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A partner. Now </span>
  </em>
  <span>that </span>
  <em>
    <span>would be something, indeed</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the only daughter and Lady of her respective House, Mother Miranda forbade her to marry to avoid losing her powerful surname. Even so, Alcina considered herself strictly independent - the thought of a partner just made her laugh. None of the maidens they ever took in were good enough to keep around longer than when they were to be Harvested. Every relationship had been meaningless. Sex only made things interesting. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But beyond sex, Alcina had yet to feel a certain spark with anyone she initially found worthy to pursue. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There was one that might have been more, once…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The memory came and went like a tide. Her first thought now before ever venturing on something as optional as a romantic relationship were her girls: How would that directly affect them? Then, would her mother even allow, much less approve of, such a union?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was nothing wrong with single-parenting - no matter what happened, Alcina would always be firm on that. She had done it for more than two centuries, and counting. There was just no one on par with her at the moment, no one she could think of who would accept her girls as they were within a 100-mile radius. Daniela had a point the other night when they were gazing up at the stars. Everyone around them understandably hated them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Which was why taking on a partner was just plain ridiculous. They wouldn’t be able to get married anyway. Alcina felt foolish for even considering the idea. Heisenberg could defecate something more worthwhile of her time than such a preposterous thought. For who could ever love someone like her, and most importantly, her girls, and not try to change a damn thing about them?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She chuckled to herself, air puffing out of her nose. In the action, she remembered why she found herself in the middle of the corridor in the first place - the bread. She heard Emă, unmistakably, in the distance scream something, a word that sounded too close to ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Daniela</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ for it not to be.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She bent to enter through the kitchen doors, not sure what to expect when she straightened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Huddled around the stone oven were her youngest and eldest, whispering to each other. And at the marble island counter, digging her fingers aggressively into a poor lump of dough was Daniela, grumbling something to herself, a section of her blonde hair disheveled with wisps sticking up into the air. Her black clothing was gray with flour. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The kitchen was dim with the thickly-layered burnt sienna curtains pulled tight, but with what little sunlight glowed through anyway gave the room a cozy, sunset-orange hue. Seeing her girls hanging out, coexisting without bickering (at the present moment), and collaborating on an activity made Alcina’s heart swell. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her family. Her perfect, imperfect family. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela was the first to notice her, already facing the direction of the doorway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Ma!” she clawed her fingers in the dough harder than necessary.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany and Emă turned swiftly, with Emă spinning around so hard, she ended up whacking the back of Daniela’s head with her long sleeve. Daniela yelped, and more of her hair stood up at the crown - so that was probably why her hair was so messy (but also because she was Daniela, it could have been for a number of other reasons).</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Something smells divine,” Alcina said, “What are my girls up to on this fine afternoon?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany quickly shot a look at Daniela, then Emă. They both knew very well that Emă </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>lying to Alcina. Would she tell her about their plan? Tiffany noticed Daniela was eyeing Emă too, as if to seek for her permission and eldest-sisterly advice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We are trying to make bread,” Emă said, “We think…” she trailed off. Daniela and Tiffany exchanged more looks. They hadn’t fully discussed the pros and cons of telling Alcina their intentions to set her up with an unsuspecting human foreigner. Would it really be so bad if she knew? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom, we’ve been dishonest,” Emă began. Daniela’s brows shot up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we haven’t!” She gasped, then turned back to Alcina, “Ma, there have been no lies. Just…some choices made to deliberately keep the truth.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany felt torn, as she usually did. Daniela was the one who was right, but she would never voice that out loud when Emă was in the same vicinity as her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina regarded each one of her daughters, and when her eyes landed on Emă - her confidante, her right-hand woman, her most trustworthy advisor in both business and family ventures - she held out a hand, palm face-down, for her eldest to take. Emă perked immediately, magicking away the sticky dough and flour on her fingers so she could take her mother’s hand into her own. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If I’ve made you feel unsafe in disclosing something to me, then I have failed as a mother,” Alcina said. Emă quickly shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Mom, you’ve done nothing wrong. It’s...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany held her breath. Everyone directed their attention to Daniela.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...</span>
  <em>
    <span>What</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pressure settled in fast. She wanted to keep it a surprise, but Emă didn’t think that was the best idea. And with the way Alcina looked at her, like there was pain mixed with worry behind her eyes…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela didn’t think Alcina would register any of her behavior with such concern this early. But she guessed that made sense, considering the questions she’d been raising. That was only a few nights ago. The way Alcina could read her so easily, how she could read </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>of them so easily, it made Daniela feel guilty for being so flippant and sneaky. Was there anything else she failed to consider? She never did listen to her head over her heart. She never learned how.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina’s eyes darted downwards, where Daniela’s hands were aggressively and deeply buried in the dough, spilling from between her fingers. It reminded her of her metaphorical hold on her girls in the beginning of their adoptions. She always tried to find that perfect balance, between being over-protective, and regular vigilant parenting, something her own mother never took the time to do with her and Heisenberg.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And so, as much as she wanted to know more about what was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> going on, Alcina figured they would confide in her in due time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Darling, that dough isn’t your enemy,” she smirked, “Or a maiden.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina rounded the corner of the counter, still holding Emă’s hand. Daniela lifted her head, craning her neck to look up at her mother smiling softly at her. She unclasped her hands from the dough, and watched as it slowly started to rise from the indents she made. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you help us, Mom?” Emă asked, “Without cooks and maids, we’re…” Besides her stance on lying, they all knew it was usually difficult for Emă to admit she was lacking in a certain ability, especially in something she perceived should be so easy, even humans could do it, like baking and cooking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Helpless,” Tiffany finished for her. Other people had been cooking their meals for two centuries. And when they hunted, there was no cooking involved at all. Alcina was surprised they figured out how to operate the stone oven, though she would never voice the thought out loud for fear of making them think she doubted their capabilities </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> much.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She bent to give the top of Emă’s hand a quick kiss before letting go, and made her way to a tall closet on the other side of the kitchen. From inside, she pulled out a large apron and slipped it on, and made her way back to the counter where the sink was, and cleaned her hands. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can one of you get me a brush, a scoring blade, and some brown sugar and vanilla extract?” Alcina asked, grabbing one of her custom-made chairs so she could be somewhat level to the countertop and show her spine some kindness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All three of them were already pushing each other and scrambling for the cabinets before Alcina added without taking her eyes off the dough she began to knead, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Just one of you, please</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Tiffany.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany stuck her tongue out at the other two, and retrieved the necessary items.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The girls crowded around their mother, watching her hands earnestly as she settled into a simple pattern; she pushed at the dough on the surface dusted with flour with the heel of her hand, folded it over itself, before repeating the process.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Because Daniela had already somewhat kneaded it, Alcina didn’t have to do much more until she could feel the dough toughen into a springy pile, signalling readiness for the resting stage. Alcina sprinkled on some more flour, smoothed and shaped it, stitched a seam of dough at the bottom, and placed it on a floured bowl, setting it near the oven for its warmth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While they waited, Emă took out their test bread, the one they first baked. It was a lumpy sad thing, and when they sliced into it, there were more holes than actual bread.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The oven ate its insides,” Daniela said, “It’s like looking at a fresh kill.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina was trying hard not to laugh, “How much yeast did you use?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă searched for the measurement in the cookbook but Daniela answered before she could find the number, “A shitton.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany groaned, “I swear this second one’s better. This is its third time rising.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It needs to be perfect. This isn’t for us, you know,” Emă quipped before realizing what she had voiced out loud. Alcina arched a brow, and the sisters all winced.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela rubbed at her forehead; this was exactly what she had been avoiding at the start.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ma…” she started, absentmindedly picking at a bread slice, “We met a friend in the village last night when we went to the marketplace. Me and Tiff.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>A friend…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina made the connection quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that your giddiness, the bear meat, and now, bread baking, is all due to impressing your new friend?” Alcina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not impressing her for </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> either,” Emă mumbled, figuring that most of the cat was out of the bag anyway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela glared at her older sister as Alcina crossed her arms, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>interested.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span><em>?</em> Oh, Dani...” her mind drifted back to the last few evenings, “...is this why you were asking if I was happy? If I felt lonely?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany took a few steps away, not wanting to hear any of this, certainly not if it had anything to do with her mother’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>loneliness</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll love her, Ma, I promise!” Daniela rushed out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina’s eyes widened, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Daniela</span>
  </em>
  <span>. What have I told you about playing with your food?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not food, though,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not a maiden, then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Everyone turned to Emă, with Daniela and Tiffany shocked at the blatant lie; Emă sighed, “No,” she repeated, trying to make her voice sound firmer and more confident.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her sisters were too shocked to say anything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina leaned back into her seat, considering the influx of new information. After she had considered a romantic relationship after looking at the family portrait, too.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As long as she’s not a maiden, then. We can keep her around for longer than we would a regular maid,” she decided.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what would happen if she was a maiden?” Tiffany asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă rolled her eyes, “We’d have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>eat her right away</span>
  </em>
  <span>, idiot,” she explained pointedly, hoping Tiffany got her message, “The longest we’ve gone without a virgin meal was two days, and that was before you got here. This is the worst drought we’ve experienced. We’ve exhausted the number of maidens in maturation in the area.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina turned to her eldest, cooing, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shhh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we’ll be okay, sweetheart. No need for name-calling. This is just a hiccup, that’s all. Numbers will rise soon,” She patted Emă’s face gently, coating her cheek in flour; Emă’s expression relaxed at the action.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And speaking of rising...that should be enough time for the dough, don’t you think?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela stared at the basket in her lap, filled with the perfect circular loaf of sweet brown bread, a jar of raw honey, and a bottle of normal aged, blood-free red wine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You are the heiresses of Castle Dimitrescu, known for our wine since the 15th century. I will not allow you to pay our potential guest a visit without bringing her our pride and joy to taste</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Alcina had told them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before the bread was baked, Alcina had lightly brushed the outside with a vanilla extract-brown sugar mixture, and scored it with a simplified drawing of their floral family crest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was late evening now, and all three of them were on a carriage sent by Heisenberg, pulled by one of his prized horses. This would be the carriage they would be using to bring the maiden back with them. Daniela was starting to feel nervous for some reason, wondering if this - all this - was a mistake.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop breathing too loud,” Emă said beside her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela narrowed her eyes; she opened her mouth to return her sister’s snark, then suddenly remembered what she said back in the kitchen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey...in all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never heard you lie to Ma. Why did you do it?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă continued staring straight ahead, equally anxious about arriving at their destination.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“For you, dummy. I did it for you,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t understand,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You heard what Mom said. She would easily put our needs first over her own. If we brought that unsuspecting woman to the castle, on the premise that she’s a maiden, Mom would kill her immediately. Is that what you want, Dani? For your bread and your chokers and our bear feast to be all for naught?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But she’ll know right away, Em. What difference would it make, then? Are we just wasting our time?” Tiffany spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă sighed, and faced her two younger sisters, both of which sat on her left, “Must I spell everything out for you two?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She received silence and some patient blinking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“All I wanted to do was establish a rapport. If I had said ‘yes’ back there, you think Mom would’ve let us out to visit her without a bag to put over her head instead of a basket of goods? Once we bring her back, </span>
  <em>
    <span>uninjured</span>
  </em>
  <span> with Uncle Heis, we can figure it out from there. Maybe when Mom sees us all together, she’ll change her mind...or something,” Emă turned away to look out the window; she wasn’t sure why she really cared either. This was about a human, after all. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe, deep down, she wanted what Daniela wanted, too. And it meant even more to her with her mother’s heart on the line. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And for the record, I’ve lied to Mom plenty of times,” Emă added. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela snickered, “Yeah? Like how well you understood ‘The Canterbury Tales’ in its original Middle English form?” she poked Emă’s cheek, trying to make her smile at least a little.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like how well I was doing in any given moment,” Emă said, straight-faced, “You’re not the eldest, you wouldn’t understand. You wouldn’t understand how much strength it takes to be first in line to take on a massive business, and the House in Mom’s absence. And Grandmother Miranda--,” she closed her eyes, feeling her throat tighten. The last time she cried, she was a child. She wasn’t about to break her perfect streak. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Daniela didn’t realize it was deeper than she could have ever imagined. She slipped her hand in Emă’s, entwining their fingers together. Tiffany reached over Daniela, over the basket in her lap, and placed her hand over both of theirs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mama is so proud of you. You know that, right?” Tiffany asked. Emă’s chest deflated from a large exhale, releasing an overwhelming amount of pressure that had been causing her stiff posture. She continued watching the trees pass them by in a blur, making sure it numbed her vision enough so she would be too distracted to actually cry. Though, it would take more than this to make her shed tears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă gasped when Tiffany suddenly grabbed her face, cupping both cheeks and forcing her to face her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Crizantemă Stefáni Evangeline Dimitrescu, you know that Mama is proud of you, right? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>All right!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela, struggling to breathe in between them, tried letting out a scoff that sounded more like a pained groan, “Great Satan Down Under, your long-ass name, dude. It should be an expression. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll get there faster than I can say Crizantemă Stef--</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany nudged her with her elbow, hitting the side of Daniela’s mouth, making her cackle. It caused a hint of a smile to ghost Emă’s lips, urging Tiffany further.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll hit her again if it means you won’t be sad,” Tiffany laughed, squeezing Emă’s cheeks even more until her lips puckered comically out of her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Emă used her free hand that wasn’t holding Daniela’s to pull away one of Tiffany’s so she could speak, “It’s okay. Dani’s just jealous because her middle name is single-syllabic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela gasped, “Don’t shit on my second name, you damn former-socialite. At least you won’t accidentally cast a curse when you say my full name out loud.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> the fucking curse, Daniela May,” Emă bit back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen here, you--,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys, wait,” Tiffany interjected. The carriage had stopped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They had arrived at the end of the dense forest; they would be traveling on-foot, and in disguises, from there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Benedikte’s mother, Anca, had gone to sleep an hour ago, leaving you alone with your thoughts in the dimly-lit kitchen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The floors were made of wood, which meant the pool of his blood had dried there in the spot he died, a grim reminder of his final, painful last breaths.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You wouldn’t put it past Lady Dimitrescu to be the one behind the village men’s disappearances either. Population had been steadily decreasing more than babies were being born in all the villages within this part of the country, and you hypothesized it had to do with the Lady’s unique diet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had monopolized most of the control of businesses, so the villages’ main source of income could only be made by working in the castle. What was she to do now, you thought, when every single one of her employees is guaranteed to meet their end, rather than make ends meet?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Would it be so strange to believe she wasn’t actually the woman in charge? </span>
  </em>
  <span>You asked yourself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you decided. Though Umbrella never told you she was working with anyone else, she must have alliances somewhere, everywhere. Either your employers were keeping something or they knew much less than they let on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You reached into your sports bra, taking out the picture again, if only to re-ignite your passion towards your one and only objective.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You were sitting at the dinner table, with a mug of sweet-milk decaf coffee, halfway finished. Aunt Anca was expectedly too dejected to make dinner, and you weren’t feeling hungry enough to make yourself a meal anyway. You promised her you would pay the market a visit sometime tomorrow. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cleaning and cooking and helping with other chores around and outside the house was the least you could do for the former Umbrella operative. She only left so she could raise a young Benedikte after his father died - in the same messy, bloody way as the rest of the male villagers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now, with her son dead too, no doubt at the hands of House Dimitrescu, he was yet another casualty that fueled your family’s anger against the Lady.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You ran a thumb across her neck in the small portrait. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Killing her...if your family weren’t involved in the crossfire, your feelings would be the same. She had caused enough disorder. Her death would do the entire world, not just Romania, a favor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You returned the sketch against your chest, and stood from the table. There were various weapons provided by Umbrella laid out near the mess that was your luggage pile - an ax, a sabre, a cleaver; any of those would be able to cut through the thick muscles of her neck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But your most important one, the most portable and inconspicuous, was an athame sheathed at your hip, a blade you used throughout most of your training. You started keeping it real close the minute you landed in the country. It was familiar, comfortable, and though it might not be able to kill Lady Dimitrescu on its own, your training coupled with wielding the athame would be able to seriously injure her by targeting weak points in the body, enough to incapacitate her and give you time to retrieve the bigger, sharper blades to ultimately finish the job. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When you returned to take a sip of your coffee, you were met with cold liquid, which was probably just the sign you needed to turn in for the night, even if sleep was the last thing on your mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With the mug placed to soak in the sink, a task for morning-you to handle, you were about to retire to the bedroom (formerly Benedikte’s) when a knock sounded at the door.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Your hand instinctively went to grip the handle of your athame as you cautiously and carefully approached the window to take a quick peek at your visitors, for who in their right minds would be paying anyone a visit at this hour?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela was their main guide; it had been her prey who brought her to his home anyway. His scent lingered, though faintly, and she used that subtle marker to weave through the blocks of similarly-designed cottage houses until they arrived at the right one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, wow, I wonder if we’re at the right one,” Emă deadpanned. In front of the house were remnants of a memorial vigil for Benedikte, piled with browning flowers and dead candles. There were some cardboard with his photographs and various notes glued on them. Daniela grimaced, face contorting dramatically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna vomit,” Daniela said, switching the basket of food from one hand to another, “I can’t believe anyone would ever miss a piece of trash like him. Fools.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They could’ve been from victims of his, you know, celebrating his death. And besides that, he still had a mom,” Tiffany pointed out, “Let’s just...yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela took one last nasty look at the wilting memorial before balling her hand into a fist, and rapping her knuckles three times on the door. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No answer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She took a step back, “Shit. What time do humans sleep usually? What if we’re bugging her?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha. That’s funny since we can turn into...nevermind,” Tiffany pursed her lips, locking her hands behind her back and digging the point of her shoe into the dirt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re hopeless,” Emă scoffed, nudging Daniela out of the way of the door, being the one to knock this time. Waiting, she quickly snatched the basket from Daniela, who was about to protest before she held up a finger and gave her a stern look that made her eyes glow yellow. Daniela crossed her arms and  pouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling impatient, and not wanting to be left out, Tiffany reached over and knocked too.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you two </span>
  <em>
    <span>behave</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Emă hissed, slapping at Tiffany’s hands while Daniela snickered behind them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The door opened then. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Reader and Alcina will be meeting sooner than you can finish saying Crizantemă Stefáni-- *gunshots*</p>
<p>Let’s be friends on my socials!</p>
<p>IG (I make art!): sardoniquewriter<br/>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>      - I have an #itav tag! Including, but not limited to, aesthetic, general vibes, shitposts, and pretty quotes.<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. paralyzed, lost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Heisenberg deviates from the original plan, and you discover something about the girls.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I headcanon today, April Fool’s (4/1), as Daniela’s birthday. With that said, expect a chapter on that in the near future. :)</p>
<p>Happy reading! ;))))))))</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Heisenberg struck a match, lighting the lamp that he would be carrying outside to his stables. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sun had set a couple of hours ago, which meant the carriage he had sent for the girls earlier in the morning was most likely already in motion and on its way to the village for the human. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Such a curious situation, this was, he thought. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela, as well as Emă and Tiffany, were mostly shielded from the strict rules Mother Miranda imposed on both him and Alcina. Though she had implemented them during their youth, they had settled into the normalcy of the dutiful restrictions that, over time, became routine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The rules, or reminders, themselves were not at all as demanding as Miranda could make them out to be in Heisenberg’s opinion: <em> Do not disobey. Your duty to your House is as important as your life. My word is Gospel. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Not unlike the Ten Commandments </em>, he thought of them once. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was one commandment that was created specifically for Alcina as Miranda’s sole daughter, and that was the one that forbade her to marry. <em> This is the rule Daniela isn’t aware she’s testing </em> , <em> the rule all three of them aren’t aware of, period </em>, Heisenberg realized.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina had followed that rule without any trouble, mostly due to her high standards as well as her natural aversion to the kind of vulnerability she would have to make available in such a relationship. So, it worked. Alcina wasn’t pressured to tether herself to a man, and Miranda had a daughter who got to keep her powerful surname, and maintain her ruling in the House as the sole heiress of the Dimitrescu bloodline.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg left those matters for his sister to worry about, and only discussed business when appropriate. After all, he had his own House to worry over, which he inherited from his late father, the man Miranda married a few years after Alcina’s own father passed away. However, Heisenberg had never once referred to Alcina as his ‘<em> half </em>-sister’ - ‘half’ was merely a technical detail. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>History aside, he assumed Miranda wouldn’t see the marriage commandment as history. Which was why he worried for Daniela, and even the poor human who would be brought into this weird little equation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> I hope they grant her mercy, and end up eating her. It would be paradise compared to what will happen if Mother Miranda got her hands on the young maiden threatening the stability of the Four Houses.  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela and Emă laid out their plan to him last night: they would be picking up the human from her home in the village, and he was to meet them at the edge of the dense forest, where he would be escorting all of them back to the castle. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Too moved by Daniela’s excitement and optimism to bring up a few concerns, Heisenberg agreed. Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop thinking of the potential dangers. Alcina always protected him from Miranda’s seething temper - it was time he stepped up and returned the favor now that they were both much older.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> But perhaps allowing this...potential romantic relationship blossom would do her well. Surnames also wouldn’t be a problem here since this would be a union between two women. Maybe this human can be the one who will bring out more of </em> Alcina <em> - not the Alcina who’s a mother, nor the Alcina who’s the older sister, or the dutiful daughter </em> ... <em> just </em> Alcina Dimitrescu. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg opened the doors to the stables, and approached one of the fussy horses, stirred awake by the candlelit lamp he held up above his head. Heisenberg patted the top of his cowboy hat, securing it further in place, and offered the excited majestic animal a warm smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Apologies if I woke ya, Autumn, sir,” Heisenberg said, running a comforting hand through the horse’s mane, “You up for a little ride? I gotta meet my nieces at the edge of the forest.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Autumn snorted, then whinnied. Heisenberg liked to think they were having a meaningful, reciprocal conversation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He spotted a hook above to hang the lamp on, and reached into his back pocket, taking out his wallet. He flipped through his photographs until he arrived at his favorite one.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You remember them, don’t you? I know it’s been a while,” Heisenberg held up a small picture that featured Alcina and his nieces; it was taken a couple of months following Tiffany’s adoption, and Alcina had wanted him to have an updated copy. It was sepia-toned, with the corners lovingly worn from multiple handlings and viewings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I hope they know what they’re getting themselves into, Autumn. Especially this lil’ young lady here,” he pointed at Daniela, who was pouting her signature expression in the photo; Heisenberg sighed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So often, her heart’s in the right place. But it seems the world has taken on the duty to disagree,” he shook his head, “I won’t be adding to that resounding no, I just won’t. Hell be my witness,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg returned his wallet to his back pocket, and went to find a saddle and reins.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let’s giddy on up, sir.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On your first evening here, you ran into a bit of trouble finding your way around. And with a couple of carry-on bags you had begun to regret dragging along, you also quite literally ran into a pair of tall, enchanting women, both endearing and kind, who pointed you in the right direction of where you intended to go. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, that same pair of tall, enchanting women were at your door, along with a third addition, whose golden gaze caused a shiver to run down the length of your spine. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> They mentioned they had an older sister… </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good evening!” Daniela was the first to speak, “I hope this isn’t a bad time. We just couldn’t wait to see you again!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took some strength to break Emă’s eye contact and speak back, “Oh, goodness, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon—if I knew I’d have company I’d have cleaned up a bit—,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is this a bad time?” Tiffany asked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Kind of. There are blades on the floor and a large bloodstain just a few feet away. </em>“No. Please, come in, come in,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They all brightened at the verbal invitation. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You have a <em> lovely </em> abode,” Daniela said, pretending it was her first time here, as if she didn’t tear out a man’s jugular in the corner just a few nights ago. She glanced past it, spinning around once, taking in the scents. <em> Such humble olfactory notes, Emă would say </em>, she thought mockingly in her head. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When she faced you again, she met Emă’s eyes behind you, and smiled as Tiffany politely closed the door behind herself as the last person to enter. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t believe we’ve met,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You turned at the new voice. She grinned, though it looked like it pained her to do so. Her smile was unique to say the least. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I am Crizan—,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> Uh-uh! </em>” Daniela interjected, joining her sister’s side. “Call her Emă. Trust me, I’m saving your poor tongue from her twister of a name, you’ll be needing it,” she winked, and the innuendo was not lost on her sisters. Tiffany grimaced, immediately blocking out any intrusive thoughts of you being intimate with her mother. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She’s the eldest which means she’s a full-time bitch, so if she’s a meanie to you, don’t take it personally...she’s like that with all four people she knows,” Daniela threw an arm over Emă’s shoulder and brought her close. She felt brave, knowing Emă couldn’t do anything sickle-related to her in front of a human. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The way she stood, the way she handled herself, and her aura in general, you couldn’t help but see a bit of yourself in Emă, especially the version of you back in the early days of training. Reserved, serious, straightforward. Her dynamic was different from her sisters in that they looked to her for guidance, as Tiffany did now, eyes darting nervously back and forth between you and the eldest, thinking she wasn’t so obvious, so you pretended not to notice. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You stuck out your hand for Emă to take, and stated your name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You have a great smile,” you blurted; avoiding dwelling on such an awkward introductory sentence, you barreled straight into niceties, “So glad to meet you. Your younger sisters are some of the friendliest people I’ve met here...well, the <em> only </em>other people I’ve met since I moved here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She stared at your hand the same way Daniela and Tiffany did that evening, equally as unaccustomed to politeness outside of their family circle. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her usual attitude and bite melted, replaced by social discomfort. Instead of taking your hand, she held up a basket with a white cloth covering the contents. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“For you. Welcome to the village,” Emă stated simply. She let the handle hit your palm, and you gripped it, accepting the offering. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, wow, I...I don’t know what to say, thank you so much,” you managed. Your free hand, out of habit, went to tug at the choker around your neck, as if to loosen an imaginary tie. You then pinched the white cloth and slid it off, revealing a large loaf of bread, a jar of honey, and a bottle of wine. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Surprise!” Daniela said, clapping her hands together, “Have you had dinner?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You opened your mouth to answer but she continued her spiel. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Our, uh, mother…” there was a twinkle in her eye and a smirk on her lips as she said the word, “...helped us make it. It’s homemade!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your stomach growled at the sight of the bread, having only had coffee most of the day. The three sisters exchanged glances, empathizing with your hunger, not unlike their current bloodless state.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh! Your Ma, right? How is she doing?” you asked, hoping you came across as apologetic enough for the inappropriate comments Benedikte made, “I don’t know the exact words said but I’m sorry again on my cousin’s behalf for offending your family.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela’s hand flew to her mouth, though it barely shielded her widening grin. She clutched at her chest with the other, noticeably touched at your interest in their mother.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Pffft, he’s dead, it’s all good, don’t even worry about it,” she waved her other hand dismissively, “As for <em> Ma </em> , she’s <em> awesome </em> now that <em> you’re </em> here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany groaned to herself, already overwhelmed with second hand embarrassment. She looked to Emă, pleading with her eyes to save their reputation before Daniela could chase away the poor human due to her allergy to subtlety. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is it just you here?” Emă started walking around; your heart raced when she rounded the couch - your messy luggage pile and blades were there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She pretended not to notice them as she took in the rest of the details of the room: the luggage, the three specific types of weapons (and what you could possibly need them for), the mug soaking in the sink. Emă took a quick and discrete sniff, and filtered coffee from the strong scent of your maiden’s blood. Her mouth watered, and so she tensed her jaw, and brushed off the incoming headache that was a part of her withdrawal symptoms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You eyed her, counting each step she took, “No, my aunt is asleep now. It’s just her and me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You swallowed your nerves when she walked past the bloodstain, briefly stepping on it as if it were but a rug.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your significant other must miss you, then, back where you’re from,” Emă said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela paled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Shit, I never asked that, huh? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany watched the smile disappear from her sister’s face, replaced with genuine fear. Their kind never sweat, but she thought she spotted a dot of moisture developing at Daniela’s hairline. It was uncanny to see her older sister appear so...<em> human </em> after being so used to seeing her commit violent atrocities, even if it was just a temporary disguise. Daniela’s throat bobbed as she swallowed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You laughed nervously, “No, uh, I’m flattered you think a gal like me would have somebody but I’m not dating or seeing anyone at the moment. I’ve been too busy with...life, I guess,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh? With what specifically?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela never bounced back so fast, “<em> Would you like to be dating or seeing somebody, though </em>?!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany whacked her, causing her to stumble forward. “<em> Ow! </em>Don’t fucking do that, Tiff! It’s a legitimate question,” Daniela said, reaching behind her to rub behind her shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You turned to Emă, wanting to address her question since she asked first, “School,” you stated - the backstory you prepared throughout your training was mostly based on the ideal route you would have taken had Lady Dimitrescu never existed to torment your family. You wanted to go to a normal college, and take normal classes, and insert yourself in discourse that pertained to anything and everything: the arts, the humanities, the sciences. You would have rather preferred to feel torn from choosing between cognitive or behavioral psychology, instead of which stupid blade was best for chopping off heads.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă perked at the word, “And you’re learning…?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela threw her head back, rolling her eyes and snoring, “I’m learning how <em> not </em> to talk to people. Listen, you’re friendless, we’re friendless - made more evident by our sweet Emă. You’re single, and we…” she gestured to all three of them standing in various places around the room, “...have a cool single Ma who would <em> love it </em> if you came over. You can even apologize for Bene- <em> dick </em>te in person, or whatever,” she laughed at her own pun, “What do ya say?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your brows shot up, and you felt your cheeks warm when it dawned on you. They were setting you up with their mother. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> I mean, Umbrella never said I couldn’t mingle with the townsfolk. </em>What would be the harm in becoming better friends with such a clearly lonely family? You were lonely, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The pregnant pause went on for much too long for Tiffany’s liking, unable to keep to herself in the shadows as a bystander anymore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Crap, we’ve ruined this, didn’t we? The only friend we could’ve had here, and we’ve ruined it,” she buried her face in her hands when tears began to well in her eyes. Daniela grimaced and rubbed at her forehead where her tattoo would be sans magical disguise, realizing that she might have been much too forward. Emă rubbed at her own arms, hugging herself. She wanted to go home and escape the rejection she already played out in her head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You held your breath, stilling at the sight of the crying girl who was already slowly backing up towards the door - Daniela hadn’t offended you at all. None of them had. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Usually, you were quick to feel suspicious over strangers showing you such kindness. Growing up, you learned from personal experience how many people harbored ulterior motives, how many people sought to take advantage of softness, or saw it as a weakness. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>But these women...they were different. You felt comfortable around them, a feeling you couldn’t quite explain. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Of course, there was still a general tension present that came from meeting anyone new; but Daniela’s embarrassment was real as she avoided your eyes, the tears streaming from Tiffany’s were real, and Emă, the way she took turns worrying her bottom lip and biting the inside of her cheek while she absentmindedly tapped her foot in such an anxious manner - those were all real.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You’ve been each of them, as an only child, trying to navigate relationships when you were raised with the sole purpose of avenging your family. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>And on your darkest days, you were Tiffany, alone in your bedroom, lamenting a friendship that had yet to form roots. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You walked over immediately once you were able to push your self-pitying thoughts aside. Tiffany glanced up from her hands at the sound of footsteps approaching her, gasping softly when she saw it was you. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You stood before her for a second, and Tiffany stayed still, unsure of what you were going to do. She expected you to kick her out, kick all of them out, or perhaps, make a snide comment on how emotional she was. Everyone else did when she was a human. What made this time any different?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Next thing she knew, you were slowly (and awkwardly) slipping an arm around her shoulders, and leaning in. Tiffany found herself in the crook of your own shoulder, too stunned to move, or breathe. Tentatively, you hugged her, keeping the limb holding her loose in case she felt uncomfortable and wanted to pull out of the embrace. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany met Daniela’s eyes first, which were just as wide and golden as her own. Emă’s face was unreadable, but her parted lips and glowing gaze spoke the thousand words she was at a loss for. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany became drawn to your warmth, and found herself settling her chin further in the crook of your shoulder. Though Tiffany was a few inches taller than you, she never felt so small, in a comforting, child-like way, which was a strange sensation she had never experienced with a human. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Please don’t cry,” you said, “You haven’t ruined anything.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At that, Tiffany slowly placed a hand on your back, sort of returning the hug, mindful of her own superhuman strength that may or may not crush you if she embraced you fully. You smiled, as did Tiffany, and you let her pull back and break the hold on her own accord before you released her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her eyes were dry now, and in the place of a frown, was a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You breathed a sigh of relief, happy you succeeded in consoling her, if only a little.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’d love to meet your mother,” you said, and made sure to address Daniela and Emă as well. You thought you saw Daniela’s irises sparkle an unnatural shade of yellow despite the dim lighting, before she squeezed her eyes shut, and gave her head a shake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fuck yeah!” she exclaimed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And to answer your much earlier question, no, I haven’t had dinner,” you directed your attention to the basket still in your other hand, “Have <em> you </em> had any? Did you want to share? I have a toaster and some butter in the fridge,” you offered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela thought she would cry, too. “No, ma’am, that’s all yours! But if it’s a feast you want...see, we traveled here on a carriage, and we’d love to have you over. We live--,” she paused; <em> imagine how starstruck she’ll be when we all pull up at a </em> castle, <em> and she sees that we’re filthy rich </em> . <em> Humans love surprises - everyone does </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“--on the other side of the forest,” she finished.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> The other side… </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Whoa. </em> They <em> really </em> traveled. That was too far right now, especially at this hour when you should have been turning in. You were exhausted and still recovering from jet lag, and you weren’t exactly prepared to stay at their house overnight. You thought of Lady Dimitrescu suddenly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Her castle is located somewhere on the other side of the forest, too </em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>If they had arrived earlier, you might have said yes, and gone with them. This was an open opportunity for gathering intel, after all. What if they also suffered at the hands of the Lady? Having allies, albeit only a few, would greatly facilitate your mission. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă counted the seconds that passed by without a response from you, and noticed how much you were blinking. It wouldn’t be long until you were yawning.</p>
<p>Their plan had been fine except they failed to take into account one thing: your circadian rhythm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s late,” Emă spoke, causing Daniela’s and Tiffany’s postures to droop involuntarily, “Perhaps we can send for a carriage in the afternoon and we can all try for dinner at dusk instead? That might be better suited to your schedule.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What? No…” Daniela frowned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Send for a carriage? </em> You thought, <em> Who exactly are these people? </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That would be great, yes,” you agreed, thankful you didn’t have to wrack your brain for a way to politely turn down their offer for tonight. Emă had walls, but you had a feeling they were made with the same material as yours. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă glared at Daniela, feeling the gears already turning in her head trying to get you to come home with them; she might have cast a wakefulness spell in her desperation to speed things along with their mother. Daniela always lived in a fast-paced world when she had her mind set on something.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aww,” Tiffany pouted, but that was as far of a protest she would go after seeing the way Emă looked at Daniela. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You bid your goodbyes, and thanked them again for the food and the time they took to travel all the way to the village. As she waved at you, Tiffany’s look lingered, before following after Emă who was already walking ahead. Daniela decided to stay behind for a bit; she would catch up with them in a second.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey,” she said before you could close the door after your final wave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela reached into the pocket of her dress, pulling out a sort of plant. She hooked a finger into the red ribbon tied to one of its ends, and held it up in front of her face, letting it dangle and sway in the soft evening breeze.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Here,” she said, smiling wide, “I, uh, it was supposed to be a choker. I used pine leaves because we use the wood from the pine trees for our hearth so I thought that would be kinda meaningful, you know? But, uh, I gave it another thought and realized a choker would be kinda ridiculous.” </p>
<p>Daniela took your hand, and placed the string of pine into your palm, explaining, “It’s a talisman. I’ve made it so that it will protect you and bring you luck. If you’re in search of something, keep it on your person at all times. It’ll guide you to where you’re needed most,” she made sure to choose her words carefully, conscious of how others may perceive witchcraft and magic. But she had a feeling you would receive it well, or at least, pretend to in her presence, which was enough. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Ah, so she’s a practicing witch.  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You and your sisters are just full of surprises, aren’t you?” You said, gently handling the gifted talisman. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela snorted, “Boy, we are. Okay, see ya tomorrow! Don’t forget, we’ll be sending someone by!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You didn’t leave your doorstep, nor close the door, until Daniela disappeared around the corner along with her sisters. With the massive waning moon as your main light source, you held up the talisman, briefly wondering if it would sparkle or glow, not unlike the girls’ eyes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nothing happened, and you gave your head a shake, knowing you needed sleep. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Far off into the distance, a wolf yearned to howl, but was hindered by the current moon phase. Timing was everything. Instead, he settled for watching you, narrowing his eyes when he noticed your hand brush the handle of a small weapon at your hip. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă opened the carriage door and hopped in without realizing that they didn’t need it anymore, that they could all fly home the usual way: in swarms. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany and Daniela appeared distracted, too, with both joining her, but without signaling the horse to move. They all sat in silence, deep in thought. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She hugs like Mama did,” Tiffany spoke. Her sisters turned to her, expressions soft, all of them now recalling memories of when Alcina would comfort them in the first few days of their adoptions. Her hold around them would be tentative, just like yours had been, simply testing the waters of how the girls each felt about physical touch. Once Alcina knew they were comfortable, over the years, her hugs grew tighter. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I didn’t expect her to do that. She’s good...really good. For a human. Even we weren’t ever treated this kindly before we turned,” Daniela said. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, we have. But they all turned to shit after. She’s only nice because she doesn’t know what we are yet,” Emă said. The mood shifted, and all three of them regarded each other, still in magical disguises. In an instant, they shed the mask, transforming back into their original selves — wearing their matching hoods and chokers, eyes and lips lined and shaded in dark makeup, along with their forehead tattoos reappearing and their eyes returning to its natural color of gold. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You think she’ll suddenly change when she sees our true selves?” Tiffany asked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why not? Every other human has. We seduce prey in our more human forms and then take their lives in these ones,” Emă said. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You don’t trust her,” Daniela sighed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s not about trust, Dani. It’s about pattern. It’s psychology. I’m not gonna be like you two who are so quick to warm up to her just because she understands consent and has a mouth full of sweet words. There’s weapons in that house. I think I’ll wait ‘til tomorrow before I start calling her my best friend, thanks,” Emă explained. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela scoffed, “You’re impossible to please. We know you like her.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What I feel doesn’t matter. <em> Mom’s </em>feelings are what matter. She might not even like her and all your investments up until now were for nothing,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ma will <em> love </em>her. Besides being pretty, new girl’s got a rack and a heartbeat doesn’t she?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany gasped, “<em> Dani! </em> What the hell is wrong with you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Gods, it’s just a joke, Tiff, chill,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t say such objectifying things like that about—,” her eyes widened, then she slapped a hand over her mouth, sinking back into her seat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tiff...she’s not our mom, no need to be so defensive,” Emă said, “And you should know how disgusting Dani is by now, both inside and out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela blew a raspberry at her, then placed a hand on Tiffany’s shoulder, “Remember when you gave me shit about getting attached yesterday over someone showing us a bit of courtesy? How the turn tables.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany pouted, “I wanna go home now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fine, we get it. You miss Ma,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, shut up,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela was about to step out to give their horse a signal when someone tapped on their window. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She gasped, “<em> Fuck </em>, Uncle Heis!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He pulled on the reins, bringing Autumn closer at his side. He peered into the carriage. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I see there’s a lack of human…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Plan’s postponed for tomorrow. She’s gotta regenerate <em> some </em> time, which we failed to consider,” Emă explained, rubbing her right temple. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We told her you’d pick her up tomorrow. For dinner,” Daniela explained, “Can you? <em> Pleeease? </em>” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg sighed, “Of course, Dani-girl,” he looked around, then leaned in close to the glass, “You’re still sure about all this, yes?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The weapon he saw sheathed at your hip looked like a small hunting knife. Nothing much to worry about, and laughable at most at first glance, but why would you be armed in the first place?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela shot a quick look at Tiffany, “Yeah, we’re sure, a majority of us, anyway. We can plan something bigger and better now that she’s given us more time. I can go wrestle another bear.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Gods, will you forget having bear? We have regular stuff,” Emă said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Considering that human flesh is regular to us, I don’t think our dinner guest will be appreciative of us feeding her her own kind...” Tiffany pointed out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ha. It’s not like we’re feeding her a relative or something,” Daniela snorted, “Hold on, we know she’s of Romanian descent...what are the odds of us having eaten her ancestor?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă shrugged, “Small world.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Imagine…” Daniela mused. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So! I guess I’ll be venturing alone, then. You girls prepare a nice feast at home. I’ll take care of the rest. Okay?” Heisenberg summarized. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay!” said Daniela and Tiffany. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg gripped the reins a bit tighter in his hand, hoping to get to know just a little bit better by tomorrow night.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You awoke around noon to the cacophony of your alarm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heart racing, you bolted out of your bed and into the main room, peering out the window beside the door. When you saw no one waiting there, you breathed a sigh of relief - you hadn’t missed the carriage after all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good morning,” Anca said, a hint of playful sarcasm in her voice, causing you to turn. You only then became aware of the smell of eggs and meat cooking, as well as the sound of your noisy coffee brewer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s past twelve,” you sighed, heading straight to the table where the gift basket was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I stirred last night to the sound of voices. I didn’t know you made friends,” Anca said, “Are they trustworthy?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You nodded, “They live on the other side of the forest. Look what they brought me.” You picked up the circular loaf, lifting it up to your nose to take a whiff.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Vanilla and brown sugar </em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wordlessly, Anca brought you a plate and a knife, and you briefly lamented cutting into such a perfect piece of bread.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, uh, I’m having dinner with them today,” you said, examining the thin slices you cut for yourself and your aunt. You headed over to the kitchen counter where you plugged in the toaster, slipping in the bread pieces into the slots.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hm...think you’ll be able to gather intel? Or perhaps even encounter <em> her </em>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That made your heart skip a beat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Chances are low, but never zero,” you returned, “I don’t think the girls will be in such a dangerous distance of the Lady if they’re inviting me all the way out there. Who knows? I might get them to rant about how horrible Dimitrescu is and I can start making advancements the following day.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anca paused in transferring the cooked eggs onto a plate, “You’re absolutely <em> sure </em> you can trust them? That they’re not luring you into a trap?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was that possibility, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ve known them for less than two days. But based on those limited interactions alone, we all just seem to be lacking companionship. It’s not everyday you meet kindred spirits,” you replied. The toast sprung up then, and you used your bare hands to pick them, causing you to hiss.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anca sighed, “Oh, well. If you do run into some trouble, that’s what your training’s for, I guess.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once the table and the plates of food were set, you and Anca settled into chairs across from each other. You narrowed your eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re barely having breakfast right now?” you said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anca reached for a butter knife and the jar of honey in the basket, “Nice to know your observational skills are intact.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I just mean...did you sleep well?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The dried blood pool just a few feet away was the loudest thing in the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Losing family is inevitable,” Anca said, “But knowing that doesn’t make it any less painful.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Those words were what fueled your main objective. You thought back to the girls and their close familial bond - just the mere thought of them losing one another brought you pain, igniting your empathy. Losing a sibling was something you would never feel, which was perhaps a blessing? You wondered which deity watched over them long enough to protect them from Dimitrescu. There was no way they shared the area and <em> not </em>experienced her wrath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maybe that was why they wanted you to meet their Ma so badly. Maybe there was more tragedy in their story than they let on. You made sure to clean your plate, saving the toast you let Anca drizzle with honey for last so you could drink sweet milk coffee with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wine, huh? You think it’s too early to crack it open?” Anca asked, examining the bottle and reading the label, “Regina Rosie. Huh. Nothing else on here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You snorted, “Time is a construct.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was hoping you’d say that.” She stood, gripping the cork a safe distance away. You finished your eggs, and bit into the bread for the first time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Holy shit. They make good bread,” you marveled, “...I need to bring them something tonight.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cork popped, and Anca headed to the dishrack for some glasses, “It’s only customary. Bring them some of the coffee you like so much. Make extra mixtures.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Great idea,” you turned the toast over in your hand, “What the hell kinda magic did they put in this--am I just <em> really </em>hungry?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anca set your glass of wine in front of you, to which you immediately tended, both drinking at the same time. Your brows shot up when the liquid hit your tongue.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Oh </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You cleared your throat, suddenly unable to speak. Your mind drifted to the talisman Daniela gave you that you hung beside your bed, and you wondered if the food you consumed had anything to do with their family’s more magical abilities. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s some <em> real </em>good aged wine,” Anca spoke for you, “What family are they from anyway?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You shook your head, “I...I never asked. Look, there’s no way they <em> made </em> this. I’ll have to ask them about it later. Dimitrescu has a distillery too. It’d be a shame if she found she had competition.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anca’s expression turned dark, “Don’t joke about that. Speaking of Dimitrescu, we should review what little we know about her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That she’s still alive,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Be serious,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, fine,” you set your glass down, and choked down the last bit of toast.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What <em> did </em>you know so far about the Lady? </p>
<p>She was a vampire, for one. Or, at least, someone who practiced vampirism and cannibalism. Umbrella knew she ran a distillery - your matriarch had been employed as a distillery maid, after all - and her family’s vintage was still in production, selling out in expensive batches, mostly in Europe and Asia. </p>
<p>You’d never tasted this wine, since your family avoided anything she might have made like the plague. Besides, only millionaires and billionaires could afford a bottle or several back in the states. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Umbrella procured one bottle once, labeled <em> Sanguis Virginis </em>. It was sent to the lab, with results coming back positive for human blood.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Besides her wine, you realized there wasn’t much else you, or Umbrella, knew. Every agent they sent to investigate ended up dead, which explained the lack of photographs. Even when they asked around, both villagers and residents throughout the country, the most they knew was where she lived - a looming castle near the mountains, on the other side of the dense forest. </p>
<p>Additionally, it seemed to be a common fact that she was tall. <em> Extremely </em> tall. <em> Around 3 meters, </em>someone reported. That was over nine feet tall. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Knowledge wasn’t power here. Knowledge threatened your life. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>And there was no way the population of this part of Romania was going to risk their lives and loved ones for some nosey entitled Americans.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I need to get ready,” you announced after some review, and stood up from your chair, “Will you be alright?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Will <em> you </em>?” Anca returned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You didn’t answer. You didn’t know.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a knock on your door a few hours before sunset, and Anca opened it to find a tall burly man wearing a cowboy hat, eyes concealed behind a dark pair of circular shades.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m here for the young lady. I hope she’s famished,” he grinned; Anca stepped aside, letting you handle it from there, bidding goodbye with a subtle nod.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With your backpack, containing some simple provisions like a water canteen and a first aid kit as well as the talisman, slung over your shoulder, and the basket refilled with jars of your favorite coffee mixtures for the girls and their mother, you followed the man, walking alongside him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He looked down, and noticed the basket, “Oh! Let me take that for you, miss.” He offered, “Darcy’s just over this way,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You let him take the basket, “Darcy?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“One of my prized younger steeds. She took care of my nieces last night when they paid a visit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Nieces? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man held out his free hand, “Pleased to finally meet you. I’m, uh, their mother’s brother. Call me Heisenberg.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> At least someone in this family knows how to shake hands </em>, you joked to yourself. You took his, and he shooks yours, once, tightly. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Heisenberg,” you stated, then chuckled, asking, “Are you sure?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“...I’m sorry?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You shook your head, “Nothing. It’s just that you share a name with Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist. He’s known for the uncertainty principle.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man smiled at you fondly, “It’s no wonder my little Tiffany likes you,” he said, and you smiled at that, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When you got to the carriage, he opened the door and placed the basket inside. You were about to hop in when he stopped you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, no, please sit by me at the front. Let’s have a chat.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, uh, sure,” you tugged nervously on your choker. <em> Great, first Emă, now their uncle. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The ride started off smoothly enough as you waited for Heisenberg to break the silence, filled instead with the fast-paced gallops of Darcy’s hooves. About an hour or two went by without him actually asking you anything, and as the carriage ventured deeper into the forest, and time passed you by like the trees, the more wary you became of the thickening tension.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As you neared mountainside territory, it began to lightly snow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your hand went to feel at your chest for the Lady’s picture, and then at the length of your boot, double-checking that the athame was concealed there for emergencies. Heisenberg noticed the movement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Armed, I see,” he quipped. You froze.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He hummed, “No need to be scared. Well…” cocking his head to the side, he clicked his tongue, “Nevermind. You shouldn’t let your guard down, and I admire that you’ve thought ahead. But as my sister’s protector, let’s say, I’d like to at least know what it is you’ll be sneaking past her doors.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You sighed in defeat, “You’re quite perceptive...fair enough,” you said, slipping the blade out of its sheath strapped around your calf and presented it to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“An athame,” he breathed, his earlier suspicions confirmed, “Do you always carry around ceremonial blades?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> I guess you can say that </em>. “Of course not.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You want a sec to rethink your answer?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You narrowed your eyes at him, turning slightly in your seat to face him, “Are you saying that I’m lying?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You didn’t like that you couldn’t see his eyes, making him harder to read. Facing forward, you straightened and cleared your throat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ve only just moved here. But it costs nothing to be cautious. There’s been a decline in population, hasn’t there? Men disappearing, and dying mysteriously? My aunt’s son was the most recent victim. Who knows who’s next?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Right, Dani-girl ate this young woman’s distant blood relative </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg put on a smile, “My apologies. I just worry for my sister and my nieces, that’s all. Not that they can’t look out for themselves but...we’re family, you understand.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your shoulders relaxed, “I do. You, uh, your nieces have been nothing but nice to me since I got here just a few days ago. I’m glad they have you. And their mother. I can’t wait to meet her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg couldn’t help but smirk at that. You seemed all right. Still, one who carries a sword should know how to wield it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In another hour, a castle came into view, causing all blood to drain from your face. You turned to Heisenberg, who pulled on the reins, stopping Darcy in her tracks. The snow was falling harder now. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg hopped down his side of the carriage, disappearing behind it, and you followed suit. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, Heisen--,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sound of growling behind you cut you off, and when you turned, you found yourself face to face with a massive wolf, growing before your very eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You called out to Heisenberg, but you received no answer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The wolf slowly advanced at you, snarling and bearing its teeth. Its muscles rippled and twitched unnaturally beneath his skin, as if it was transforming into something else entirely. When he stood on his hind legs, you stumbled back, and quickly retrieved your blade from your boot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He stayed on hind legs then, gaining control over them, with his front legs transforming to claws, muscles and veins now bulging all over, showing through the thick layer of fur. He howled at the sky, though it sounded more like a lion’s roar, then snapped his jaw at you. The sound of sharp teeth colliding against each other echoed throughout the forest. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> More than a wolf. A </em> were <em> wolf </em>. Your heart leapt to your throat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His eyes glowed a bright yellow, a startling contrast to his dark grey fur. When he lunged at you, you almost faltered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But you recovered, forcing yourself to push aside the shock, and roll to the side, avoiding his attack. The werewolf regained footing, his heel sliding against the dirt, as his head snapped towards you. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pushing yourself off of the ground, you quickly adopted a defensive mode, knowing there was no way you could be offensive and overpower a creature like him. Not with a blade only slightly bigger than the size of your hand. You kept an eye out for Heisenberg, unable to understand how he could have just disappeared out of thin air.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The werewolf swiped his claw at you, and you ducked, running and weaving through the trees to avoid his attacks. But still, he powered through the trees like they were nothing but twigs, knocking them off of their trunks. He chased you back to the clearing where the carriage was parked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was something very off - and it wasn’t because there was a werewolf on your tail. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darcy, the horse, was calm, barely reacting and barely agitated, as if she had been exposed to this kind of scenario before. When you rounded the carriage, testing to see if he would avoid hurting you to avoid hurting the stallion, you spotted Heisenberg’s cowboy hat, dusted with dirt and snow, on the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The werewolf roared in frustration, unable to get to you unless he wanted to harm Darcy in the process. But you couldn’t stay here forever. And you weren’t completely sure he wouldn’t eventually kill the horse if you tested his patience further. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You glanced behind you, over your shoulder. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The castle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You didn’t know what awaited you in there, perhaps a fate worse than being torn apart by a werewolf, but your choices were dwindling by the second.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Temperature was dropping fast, snow quickly piling on the ground. You patted Darcy’s face, hoping she would be safe and your risky decisions wouldn’t kill her, before you bolted from the safety she provided.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What time did you say our guest would arrive?” Alcina asked, tapping her finger on the page of an open book in her lap.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The girls were in the library with her, with Daniela pacing around, chewing on her thumbnail.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t understand. Uncle Heis should be here with her by now,” Daniela muttered. Tiffany was growing impatient, too. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Suddenly, they heard a distant roar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany jumped out of her seat, running towards the window across the room. Hesitantly, she reached for the thick curtain, fearing the sunlight that might touch her if she pulled it aside. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tiff, don’t!” Emă called out, turning into swarms and flying towards her sister. Alcina got to her first, putting herself between Tiffany and the window.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you stupid?” Emă hissed when she materialized, pulling Tiffany away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I just wanted to check, I’m sorry!” Tiffany said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina peeked for her, only pushing the curtains aside by a small inch. Her eyes widened, and a gasp escaped her lips.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ma? What is it?” Daniela asked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina was already walking out of the room, calling out behind her, “The sun is setting but it hasn’t completely yet. Don’t look out that window.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You tripped, boots slipping against the ice on the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Fuck!</em>” You gasped - The castle was only an arm’s distance away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This gave the werewolf a split-second chance to corner you, but also gave you the chance to use your blade for the first time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He threw his head back and roared, blood spilling from the gash you swiped at his face, on his cheek. You scurried away, occasionally running backwards to keep an eye on him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg wiped at the blood, seething now. With his breathing visible in the cold, you watched as he puffed air out of his snout, growling. He ran towards you, but you were ready, becoming familiar with his attacks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Expecting him to swipe at you again, you avoided his claws and ducked through his legs, swiping your athame at his ankles. He roared even louder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back in the castle, the girls heard that one. All three exchanged looks with one another, knowing the sound of their Uncle Heis anywhere, before turning into swarms and making their way out of the library. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You were standing behind him now, your back to the castle, as he groaned, crouching in pain. You must have sliced deeply. With him vulnerable, you seized the opportunity to pounce on his back, wrapping an arm around his neck. But before you could stab into his flesh, he stood, carrying you along with him as he tried to shake you off, roaring and snarling and growling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You held onto him tightly, fingers digging into his fur, knowing if you let go even for a millisecond, you could be thrown, and become dinner that way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> But why does it feel like he’s not trying to </em> seriously <em> hurt me? Why does it feel like he’s actually holding back? </em>You couldn’t help but think.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He roared again, and you winced, hoping your eardrums wouldn’t be shattered (though that would ultimately be better than your skull). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s quite enough,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The air from your lungs was forced out of you as you felt a large hand grab the back of your jacket, and the next thing you knew, you were slammed to the ground, <em> hard </em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eyes closed and too weakened to take advantage of the little reaction time you had, you could only feel your wrist, the one gripping the athame, being pinned down, and someone’s fingers wrap around the entirety of your neck, applying pressure and causing your choker to dig into your flesh, but not enough to block your airways, though you still struggled to breathe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You didn’t want to open your eyes, afraid of the image you’d be met with, but you forced yourself--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your airways constricted even further.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You took a second to absorb the shock to your system - your back landed on the ground covered in frozen, hard-rock snow, after all - and slowly get your bearings. Your head was pounding and you felt cold everywhere, except for your neck that was cradled in a leather-gloved hand. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sun had set now, though there was still a slight glow to the sky, snowflakes lightly falling still.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your entire life - through childhood, through your adolescence, and throughout the early years of adulthood and now, you studied the portrait that your heart currently thumped against. You studied her yellow eyes, her taunting smirk, her arched brow. You familiarized yourself with her short, black curled hair, her proud neck, and her laugh lines. You could recognize Lady Dimitrescu from the top of her head, to the tip of her nose, to the curve of her jaw, down to her clavicle. That was where the portrait stopped. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Umbrella only had blurry photographs, and barely accurate computer renderings based on witness description. Nobody had been able to get close enough to capture a decent picture of her face, or the rest of her. You assumed some paintings and more portraits existed, but she must have possessed them all. There was little chance she would have let any of those artists escape with their commission, or their lives. <em> Knowledge isn’t power here. </em></p>
<p>The small laminated painting tucked against your breast was special, because it was drawn by your family’s matriarch all those years ago. She was the only one who was able to see the Lady up close, and live long enough to pass on her rendition, until eventually, it made its way to you. The details of its survival had always been fuzzy, but it never really mattered anyway.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Because now you knew, nothing could have prepared you for the sight you beheld. If your hands weren’t balled into fists, with one of them pinned, at your sides, you might have reached out to touch your skin to hers, if only to prove she was real. To prove this was real.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Lady stared you down, her golden irises pulsating and her gaze hard, but there was no animosity behind her eyes. You could barely blink, so maybe it was your own unreliable vision playing tricks on you, but there was almost a kindness to them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina, with her tight grip around your neck, felt you swallow against her palm. Despite the extra layer her gloves provided, she could feel your racing pulse against the pads of her fingers. For what felt like eternity, you and her just stared at one another, paralyzed, lost. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your heart skipped a beat - a disruption in your steady, rapid pulse of which she surely felt - when you realized she was moving. Moving towards you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her hand loosened from around your neck and traveled downwards; she stopped with her palm laying flat against your sternum, and spread out her fingers, applying pressure, securing you to the ground. Your brain slowed down your perception of reality, and you could only watch as she leaned in, dipping low, until you could feel her breath tickling your skin. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She took one soft, deep inhale before she slowly raised her head, but not before her perfume permanently wormed itself into your memory. <em> How could someone so deadly smell like vanilla? </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her eyes locked with yours again, and a smile crept on her ruby red lips. There were those laugh lines, you thought. Her hand on your chest lifted slightly, and you felt a leather finger caress your jaw, tracing a line from the edge and down your chin, and eventually tapping gently at your jugular, right above the coils of your choker. You took it as a command to speak.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“L-Lady…” you could barely bring yourself to say her name. You never expected to find yourself face-to-face with her so soon. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She hummed a sound low in her throat, dipping down again until her mouth was next to your ear, uttering, “Don’t let my title fool you, dearest. I could ravage you right here.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was so close to you, you thought you could feel the peach fuzz of her face softly brush against your own as she rose. In your peripheral vision, you saw the werewolf that attacked you shrink, and transform into a man right before your widened eyes - <em> Heisenberg </em>. He looked like any regular tall man, though you knew that couldn’t be further from the truth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He limped over to you and Lady Dimitrescu until he hovered above, well within your visual field, his hair hanging on either side of his face, which you only now noticed was colored and textured the same as his fur as a werewolf. You could see his eyes now, a similar color to Lady Dimitrescu's, and there was a cut across his cheek, a deep one.</p>
<p>Heisenberg bent slightly, tilting his head to the side, smirking at your vulnerable position beneath the hand of his massive, vampiric ally. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He noticed that you still had the athame clutched in your fist, so he reached over and took it, but not without a slight, yet fruitless, struggle from you. Lady Dimitrescu never took her eyes off of you. With her lips already slightly parted, her tongue hungrily darted out to wet them, coating the crimson shade that dyed them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Like any other Follower of Sappho, she really took the words right outta your mouth, hasn’t she, sister?” Heisenberg commented, smiling mischievously, toying with your blade in his hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Sister? No, it can’t be... </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina narrowed her eyes, still looking at you, though you knew it was because of what Heisenberg said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The things I’m planning on doing with her are between her and me alone, Heis.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg sucked some air through his teeth, “Uhm, well, you might wanna talk to your girls--,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another voice called your name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The muscles in your neck twitched when you heard the familiar voice, and if you could turn your head, you would. But you had spoken with her enough to know just who that voice belonged to without needing to see her - there were only a handful of people here who would know your name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your blood ran cold when that same, familiar, female voice called out, “Ma<em> - </em> what the <em> fuck </em>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was joined by another, and then another, their voices and gasps unmistakable. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That hatred that had burned so brightly, so passionately inside of you not five minutes ago, was but a dull flame now, flickering in confusion. Daniela…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your new friends. The nice young women who gave you bread and wanted to set you up with their mother.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Their mother… </em>
</p>
<p>Their mother was your target. Your immortal enemy. The one whose head you were to decapitate and bring back to the states.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Saying this newfound information complicated things would put all other understatements to shame. <em> This...sucks </em>, you thought, then hated yourself for the unintentional pun.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ugh, that FOOL, Heisenberg smh xD</p>
<p>Let’s be friends on my socials!</p>
<p>IG (I make art!): sardoniquewriter<br/>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>- I have an #itav tag! Including, but not limited to, aesthetic, general vibes, shitposts, and pretty quotes.<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. the ninth wave</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>An impromptu discussion about your fate at the hands of the Dimitrescus is held, and Daniela is still at odds, having trouble separating her match-making goals from the duties she has to her House. Each family member continues to surprise you, most especially the Lady herself, who has requested a private audience with you and you alone.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>3 things!</p>
<p>(1) *IGN article about the daughters comes out* Me: Y’all hear sumn?</p>
<p>JK JK, I jest lmao, but just the for the plot purposes of this fic, and to avoid confusion, I will continue using my chosen names/sibling order for the girls, as follows:<br/>-Crizantemă (eldest) - brunette<br/>-Daniela (middle) - blonde<br/>-Tiffany (youngest) - redhead<br/>~<br/>(2) Thought I’d share that when I was reading over/editing the fight scene with Heis, Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ came up in my queue and, man...cinematically? That song would just fit so yeah, 10/10 would recommend going back and rereading just that part while listening to it because it made me guffaw. Toxic’s officially been added to the fic playlist, which you can find here!: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=3Mf4no2QRh6zQAHs-mTGMw<br/>~<br/>(3) I made art for the previous chapter! Find the post here on my IG (@sardoniquewriter): https://www.instagram.com/p/CNi-_SKDwv1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link</p>
<p>Anyways, as always, love y’all. Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You weren’t invited to the emergency family meeting. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You were, however, invited to experience Dimitrescu hospitality at its finest: locked in a cell in their underground dungeon that smelled like an abandoned cheese factory. </p>
<p>While Tiffany cast you an apologetic look, Daniela was avoiding your eyes entirely, just as Emă was doing as she pulled on the bars to make sure your entrapment was secure. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>If she <em> had </em> looked at you, it was with a sneer, with her yellow eyes that matched her mother’s narrowed in disgust. With a swift turn, she turned into a thousand insects, one of which took care to buzz around your head and at your ears before following after the rest of the swarm. It wasn’t long until Daniela and Tiffany disappeared, too, turning into insects as well, following after their sister and flying out of view. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your eyes lingered where they had stood, mouth partly agape, both due to shock at the magical transmutation before you, and so you could minimize how much of the disgusting odors actually reached your nose, and subsequently, the olfactory processing centers of your brain. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina pinched the bridge of her nose as Daniela threw a tantrum on the floor. Emă, standing beside the couch with Tiffany, unconsciously mirrored her mother’s mannerisms to alleviate her oncoming migraine. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>For nearly two centuries, this had become the norm whenever Daniela didn’t get her way, forcing the family to grow accustomed to her frequent mental breakdowns.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uncle, <em> why </em> would you <em> do </em> that?!” she cried, splayed out and lying on her belly on the massive rug, banging her fists. She sniffled, and rubbed aggressively at her face, smearing her eye makeup even more than it already was. “Tonight should’ve been perfect. Was all my recipe reading for <em> nothing </em>?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It <em> is </em> hard to get Dani to read literally anything that doesn’t have pictures in it,” Emă quipped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But cookbooks do have pictures,” Tiffany countered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shut up!” Daniela wailed, crying even harder. She buried her face in the rug, and for the next few minutes, all the family saw was her back twitching up and down every few seconds with each choked and muffled sob.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg and Alcina looked at each other, both seated on opposite ends of the couch. Heisenberg, unsure of what to really say and knowing it was always best to let Daniela ride out her anger in times like these, shrugged.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I always did say she got your temper,” he said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And she got your clownery,” Alcina bit back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He scoffed, “I’m your brother. Whatever clownery I got, it was a hand-me-down from you.”</p>
<p>He saw her death glare coming, and braced himself for an incoming slug to the back of the head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But Alcina turned to Daniela, who had hiccuped and picked her head up from the rug, her nose red from all her crying.</p>
<p>“Are you calling me a clown?” she whimpered, bottom lip trembling. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina sighed, expression softening. She stood from the couch and walked over to her daughter, and bent to coax her off of the floor. “C’mon now. That’s my girl.”</p>
<p>Daniela allowed her to hoist her up, body and limbs too weak to protest Alcina’s gentle handling. Alcina cupped her face once Daniela was standing on two feet, wiping wet cheeks dry with her thumbs. Then she playfully pinched Daniela’s red button nose.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, you are a clown. My troublesome, precious little clown. Don’t ever change,” she said, before planting a quick kiss on the tip of Daniela’s nose, reddening it further with her crimson lipstick. Daniela frowned and pouted, though she secretly liked being coddled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ma, ew, you’re embarrassing me,” she pulled away from Alcina’s grasp, who reached out to ruffle her already messy hair instead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It seemed her tantrum had died down, if only a little.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela turned to face Heisenberg, feeling more able to compose herself. He offered her a smile, and removed his shades. She winced when she finally got a better look at the gash you left across the side of his face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dani-girl, I am sorry for ruining your plans. But we must discuss the results of my test. That woman is not your average new villager,” he spoke. He reached into his pocket and produced a small blade, which he set down on the coffee table.</p>
<p>“I caught her armed. She was hiding this in her boot. Her having a weapon isn’t exactly alarming - it’s that she bested <em> me </em> , as a <em> werewolf </em> , with <em> it </em> alone. She’s not your average human. This woman has been properly trained in physical defense. She adapted easily to my moves, and was even able to use Darcy against me. All I’m saying is I’d watch out for her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă spoke up, “She was also in possession of weapons back at the house. I pretended not to notice but there were various, much larger, blades scattered on the floor along with her luggage. Whatever she moved here for, it isn’t just for a funeral.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heisenberg stretched out his arms, wondering why there was even a discussion taking place. He glanced at Alcina, peering at her from beneath the brim of his hat. “Anything you’d like to add?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina crossed her arms, straightening; Daniela prepared for the lecture of her life - she was surprised when Alcina turned, and regarded Emă instead. Tiffany ducked at her mother’s glowing gaze.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The woman is a maiden,” she stated, implicitly calling out the earlier lie. Emă bowed her head in shame; she knew better, yet she went ahead and did it anyway. Daniela could feel her seething, and cursing her name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Feeling tension starting to rise between her daughters, Alcina held up her hands, signaling for a pause, “I’m not angry. I just hope you three realize that this changes things. Due to the scarcity of maidens, I must prioritize our survival now. None of us know what fasting will do to us in the long run - our bodies are not properly trained to refrain from filling up on such an important part of our diet.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă met her mother’s eyes, pupils dilating at the thought of getting to eat properly again, “We’ll do all we can to help prepare for the Harvest.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela sunk - <em> well, that goes that plan. She ends up becoming chopped liver anyway </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She glanced up when she felt her mother cup her chin, sensitive to her disappointment, “I’m so sorry, my darling. But you know we don’t befriend humans, we eat them. As nice as she may be, I have to put you and your sisters first, you understand that, right? Yes?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Ma,” Daniela muttered quietly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> No...this all can’t be over so fast. When Ma had her pinned down, there was something there, I know it, I saw it. There won’t be another chance like this again.  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina smiled down at her, a smile that reached and crinkled the corners of her eyes. She looked so happy - she was always at her happiest being their mother - Daniela felt guilty, and torn.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I knew you would,” she said proudly, “Now, do we need to review what happens next? I promise you girls that we will proceed and treat this as a group activity going forward,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emă hummed contentedly, “I can’t wait to use my sickle again. It’s been clean for too long.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll head to the dungeons and begin preparations,” Tiffany added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela perked up, “Wait up, I’ll come with you,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, sweetheart,” Alcina called after Tiffany, “Don’t forget to leave her neck to me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Mama,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hm, I think that went rather well. I say this meeting is adjourned,” Alcina declared when Daniela and Tiffany left the room. Heisenberg clapped his hands together, and hopped up from his seat. Emă took over the space then, propping up her legs and lying down to occupy almost the entire width of the couch. She retrieved her sickle strapped at her hip, and admired the blade; she was eager, not to mention salivating with hunger, at the prospect of fresh maiden’s blood.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dinner,” Heisenberg stated, “I hope <em> that </em> portion of the evening isn’t canceled.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina huffed, then a grin stretched across her face, “No, it’s not canceled. But my doing the dishes certainly is.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, balls.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela reformed midway on the way to the dungeons, causing Tiffany to fly back towards her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dani,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Go, I’ll catch up,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, what’s going on? I thought you’d be thrilled that we can feed. You’re the hungriest of us all. Emă’s just a gore-freak,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m too tired to fly. I can walk, go,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wanting to lift her sister’s obviously low spirits, Tiffany put on a wide smile, “C’mon, Dani, don’t you see? Everything you did, it wasn’t all in vain. We’ll all get to feast on a human. Together. Isn’t that what you wanted? For us to do family things again? Even Uncle Heisenberg is here for it this time around.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela scoffed, “Will you go and do your healing shit on her already? I followed after you as an excuse to leave the room and keep Ma from worrying.” She rubbed at her nose, the bridge slightly sticky from Alcina’s lipstick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany stared at Daniela, long enough for Daniela to widen her eyes at her, “<em> What? </em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can already smell a stupid idea in the works. This isn’t over for you, huh?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Goddammit, Tiff, scram!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Equally as stubborn, Tiffany stayed where she was, drawing her brows together and crossing her arms at her chest.</p>
<p>“Here we go again. It’s like we’re right back at the forest except you haven’t made any efforts to move forward.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Look, gods, I just...I was blindsided, okay? Can you accept that for an answer? I’m hungry as fuck too, you know. I just thought we’d have more time with her and maybe even get to see her and Ma getting along like she did with us. I have the right to feel shaken about this,” Daniela explained, rubbing her forehead so hard in frustration, the rose tattoo might have smeared off onto her fingers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany sighed, and nodded in understanding. She chose to say nothing in response for the moment, only reaching out to take Daniela’s hand, who let her, and led her down the last few corridors and stairs leading to the dungeon. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Have you forgotten the process of the Harvest already? We’re not killing her tonight, you know,” Tiffany comforted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can you do me a favor?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hm?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Will you let Ma explain the process to her? Might as well squeeze in some bonding in the little time we have,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re such a romantic,” Tiffany deadpanned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You perked at the sound of voices. And you gasped when Daniela and Tiffany came into view.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was jarring to see them in their true forms, appearances a touch more sinister and intimidating with their matching black hoods, dark eye makeup, and forehead rose tattoos. Tiffany, who you had seen cower like a small child barely yesterday, was the most impressive and drastic change. </p>
<p><em> And the most dangerous </em>, you thought. No one would suspect her of being anything other than your average teenager.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The way her eyes glowed when she met yours, however, let you know she was actually anything but.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You made a move to stand as they got closer to your cell, before your body protested in pain and you collapsed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, hey,” Tiffany said, rushing to get the door open. She took you by the arm and helped you up as if you weighed like nothing, setting you back down on the dirty wooden bench drilled into the brick wall. You noticed in the corner of your eye that Daniela didn’t enter your cell, choosing to stand on the opposite side of the bars, watching you carefully through the spaces.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Will you kill me now?” you asked, then winced, your hand flying to caress your injured jugular. It appeared that Lady Dimitrescu, though she had left you enough space to breathe, still left a lasting physical impression.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nope,” Tiffany answered, “You have scratches and bruises from the fight. I’m here to tend to them to minimize the risk of infection. Wouldn’t want a struggling immune system, now do we?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“...Why would you care if I get an infection or not? Look, Tiffany, can you just cut to the chase? If Tiffany is even your name.”   </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She didn’t answer, not right away. Instead, she turned you slightly to the side so she could slip off your jacket. In pain, weaponless, and having a decent estimate of her superhuman strength, all you could do was sit there, unable to predict what she would do next.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ahh, there’s holes all over this poor thing. I’ll fix that for you, don’t worry,” she said, folding up the jacket and setting it on her lap. Your confusion grew with each second that passed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gently, she took hold of your arm, and cupped a hand over your elbow. You hissed, barely realizing you had broken and bleeding skin there. As quickly as you registered the pain, it soon faded to a dull ache, which soon faded altogether. Tiffany pulled back, smiling proudly to herself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, my name is Tiffany. Sounds pretty modern, huh? It’s from the Greek, Theophania, and means ‘manifestation of God,’” she chuckled at the definition, “I was raised in a nunnery, you see, and Mother Superior was a Greek lady, trying to learn English. All the old gals thought I was their little miracle from Heaven left at their doorstep. Until I wasn’t. Mama saved me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re talking about Lady Dimitrescu,” you said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aw, you’re so formal. She’s always been ‘Mama’ to me, or, ‘Mother’ in front of strangers,” Tiffany giggled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m sorry, we’re not close,” you deadpanned, “Though I have to say, your mother nearly crossed, like, third base with me back there.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany grabbed your face suddenly, and you thought you were done for because of your snark. But her eyes were dim and her own face, expressionless.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sorry. You had some scratches on the side of your cheek. There, it’s all better now,” she released you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re witches,” you stated, your hand absentmindedly touching the skin she left cold.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Eh, yeah, we dabble, you can say that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you drink blood. Like <em> her </em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Isn’t that metal? Ha, ya get it? Because blood has iron and--nevermind,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you don’t see anything wrong with that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany shook her head as she pressed a thumb against a small scrape on your knuckle, “I quite enjoy killing. Though, when I first started learning witchcraft, healing was the only thing I could do for a while, and Mama had an abundance of herbs which I’d test out on rows and rows of maidens. But those experiments would never last long, obviously. So, sometimes I do feel conflicted, and my regenerative abilities aren’t very helpful in the identity crisis at all. On the bright side, at least I know how to help my Mama and sisters if they ever get hurt.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t understand…” you breathed, mostly to yourself, shaking your head. Everything went to absolute shit today—you needed a new plan. No one informed you that the Lady had daughters. Now you had to kill some decent friendships along with their mother. This wasn’t what you signed up for. The assassination was supposed to be clean, without witnesses. Now you learned the Lady had children all this time? If so, had she no pity on your matriarch, who had children too?</p>
<p>“No one ever said Lady Dimitrescu was a mother.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany paused, and narrowed her eyes at you, “You know, for someone who’s new to the village, you’re quite aware of Mama and her reputation. Is it just a small world?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You sneered, “Your mother is responsible for so many deaths here in this part of the country that word’s reached the states. Not to mention her distillery is the Louis Vuitton of the wine world.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She gasped sharply, “Louis Vuitton is overhyped as a brand, first of all. And second, we gotta eat. You’re some sort of hunter, aren’t you? Didn’t you have a family back in your home country that fed you? And vice versa?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Dimitrescu has ruined my family’s lives </em>, you wanted to say. But what was the point? What did it matter if they knew your life story? You couldn’t see a way out of this, not right away, not with three powerful vampiric ladies and their giant of a mother, along with their Big Bad uncle. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You huffed, head still spinning and mind still swimming in shock.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She...she sounds like a great mother. You sound like you love her very much,” was all you could say, feeling defeated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We really do,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You and Tiffany turned towards Daniela addressing you for the first time. She remained on the outside, stepping forward only to grip the rusted bars.</p>
<p>“You can, too,” she continued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dani,” Tiffany warned, not liking where her sister was going with this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It isn’t too late,” Daniela ignored her, “Okay, yeah, you caught us. We harvest human blood and exhaust the population of the surrounding villages. Big whoop. If you got to know Ma, you’d realize she’s not a monster.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> Dani </em>,” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Go and snitch on me, Tiff. Look, Ma’s got the biggest heart and not just because she’s almost three meters tall.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She looked desperate, and you couldn’t decide if this was all just an act - a ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine between two sisters in order to eat away at your defenses and exploit your sympathy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s over, Dani, I’m not...<em> dating </em> your mother, or whatever your original objective was. I think everyone’s made it pretty clear that I’m being prepped for dinner. As the main course, to be specific,” you said, then turned to Tiffany, “Right?”</p>
<p>She nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> God, this is not the way I imagined myself dying. I was trained to handle a singular formidable cannibalistic foe, not...hopeless romantics who just so happened to </em> also <em> enjoy the taste of human flesh. This should’ve been easy - why isn’t this easy?  </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Still, you watched out for moments of opportunity to attack, when your chances of escaping were at its highest. You might have done something now, but you remembered that you had no idea the outline of the castle, or if the dungeon was locked off from the rest of the area. If you were going to die here, you didn’t want to die <em> here </em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany smiled sadly at you, an expression which caught you off-guard. Everything that happened before all this was still real. Everything about the way they behaved then, and now, debunked every previous theory you had about creatures like them. The humanity they retained - it was uncanny.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She pulled you in suddenly, knocking the air out of your lungs. You thought you heard your bones crack as she squeezed you against her, resting her chin on your shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re the nicest one we’ve had, you know? It’s so weird. You’re the first maiden who hasn’t cussed us out or even fought back during this stage of the Harvest. It’s like you understand why we’re doing this, and it’s to keep our family alive,” she cradled the back of your head, patting your hair softly, “And thank you for showing me kindness yesterday. I promise we won’t waste an ounce of you.”</p>
<p>She pulled back before you really had the chance to fully process what was happening and react accordingly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well…” Tiffany looked to Daniela, “Time to pass her off to Mama. I think I got everything.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She had healed your minor scrapes, cuts, and bruises, save for your neck, though you caught her staring at it intently now - your pulse must have been pounding hard enough to be visible.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, my neck,” you protested.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tiffany giggled, its echoes sounding insidious, “Oh no, Mama made it very clear she’d take care of that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You remained compliant, even as Tiffany and Daniela escorted you out of the dungeon. Your lack of restraints was very telling of their confidence; both could easily overpower you if you so much as attempted to turn and run away. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It felt strange. To feel yourself going against your training and your instincts. You didn’t have the urge to hurt them, even when the threat to your life was imminent. Would you die today? Tiffany hadn’t been clear. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soon, the three of you made a left into a much larger hallway, with rows of doors on either side. Emă came into view then about halfway down, leaning against the wall. She pushed off of it with her foot, and kept her yellow eyes on yours the entire way over. You had a feeling she was the one with the highest capacity to inflict the most damage, should worst come to worst. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>But you were wrong one too many times already. The next assumption you made might just cost you an even more painful and inescapable death than what was currently planned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You stopped walking when Daniela and Tiffany did, right before Emă. She crossed her arms, and gave you a full-body lookover. “I miss the abundant days. Unfortunately for me, I can’t afford to be picky,” she said. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Daniela puffed air out of her nostrils, “Update: as the eldest, she’s a full-time bitch <em> and </em>has snazzy one-liners.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That was two sentences, stupid, and I wish you’d stop fooling around and acting friendly with her,” Emă scoffed, “If she were an animal, you’d give her a name.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m a clown, remember? Fooling around is what I do,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I wish it wasn’t the <em> only </em>thing you do,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Stop making wishes,” Tiffany cut in, “There aren’t any stars here,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Speak for yourself,” Daniela and Emă said in unison. </p>
<p>They exchanged a quick glance before Emă directed her attention to you again. “Let’s not keep Mother waiting. She’s behind these doors.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You stared at the golden handles, curved and carved to look like a pair of slithering snakes, complete with the minute details of a scaly pattern along their bodies. </p>
<p>“I take it you won’t be following after me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Sorry </em>, Daniela mouthed. Emă and Tiffany said nothing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So you took hold of a snake and entered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The weight of the doors was heavy enough to make it close on its own, and though you expected it, the way it slammed behind you still made you jump.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You looked around when Lady Dimitrescu was nowhere to be found. This was not her bedroom, an observation made based on the obvious lack of a bed. <em> Hold on, did this woman even sleep? </em> The chamber was still overwhelmingly massive, with paintings and dressers and busts and decorative vases on plinths. The wallpaper was a deep maroon with spatterings of a white floral pattern. On any other wall, it might have been tacky, some design you might have seen in a grandmother’s home. For some reason, it made this place feel familiar, or cozy somehow—which was dangerous considering that you had lowered your defenses down immensely already. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The onslaught of stimuli was dizzying, and you thought you might pass out. But a large painting caught your eye, the cool color palette of which you used to stabilize yourself as you walked towards it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was a painting of a small boat, looking practically miniscule struggling in the middle of turbulent waters, tilted away from an incoming behemoth of a wave, which would no doubt swallow it up. Your eyes were first drawn to the whites of the foam and down to the translucent sea green of the wave’s eye, capturing the red sunset at the vantage point, the lightest and brightest parts of the painting. </p>
<p><em> She is the inevitable wave </em>, you couldn’t help but think.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I see you have an interest in the sublime,” a voice said behind you, followed by the sound of a door closing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You turned, then winced as the pain in your neck throbbed. But you were too frozen in place to have a proper reaction. That was happening a lot lately. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The scent of the room changed then, from something warm and generally indistinguishable, to vanilla and fresh cigarette smoke. She had entered from another chamber, through another door on the side opposite of the painting. Your eyes trailed up as she got closer—you now knew you had <em> definitely </em>underestimated how tall nine feet was back at Umbrella. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lady Dimitrescu smirked down at you, awaiting an answer, relishing in the pause in which you could only stare dumbly at her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And I see Daniela isn’t the only one obsessed with the Romantics.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She arched a brow at you, “My, my, I’m impressed. A maiden who’s cultured.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You swallowed your nerves, “This looks like an Ivan Aivazovsky. Is it an original?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why, of course. Only the best in my castle,” she said. She walked towards the painting until she was standing beside you. </p>
<p>“So helpless,” the Lady breathed, “So small. So meek.” You knew she was only partially talking about the boat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is this supposed to be a metaphor for what you’re going to do to me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Lady laughed, a boisterous yet mellifluous sound, echoing as it bounced around the room, “My dearest,” she said mockingly, “The human gaze is not something I seek to please. But since you’ve impressed me once again by knowing the artist, I shall show you a bit of mercy. Come.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lady Dimitrescu pointed to the ornate couch on the other side of the room, pressed up against the wall. You forced your legs to move and walk over, and the closer you got, you realized it might as well have been a queen-sized bed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Lie down.” You did. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She hummed, taking a seat once you were flat on your back, turning her body slightly so she could look at you; you stiffened beneath her gaze, “What am I doing here with you if it’s not to die?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You could tell she was enjoying watching you squirm, “I don’t exactly know what my Daniela saw in you that made her think we’d get along, but I figured I should at least try to heal the wounds I’ve inflicted. Meat is better when there’s a slight toughness to it, and your neck is absolutely tender and purple,” Lady Dimitrescu explained while slowly, and almost performatively, taking off her leather gloves tugging on one finger at a time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Take that off, too,” your eyes widened before you realized she was talking about your choker. You pulled it over your head and balled it into the pocket of your pants.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once the gloves were removed, she placed them somewhere behind her, and slipped gentle hands around your neck. You couldn’t help the combined sigh and shiver in response to the freezing temperature of her bare skin against yours. She chuckled lowly and leaned in, whispering, taunting, “Humans are so fragile.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The smell of vanilla was overpowering now with her so close again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why didn’t you let Tiffany do this and get it over with?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And miss out on getting to know what’s on the menu? Never.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you always place your potential love interests-slash-meals in a chokehold?” You dared to ask, your question laced with sarcasm. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just the ones who wield a blade on my property,” she replied, just as sarcastically. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I guess it’s a good thing I did, or your brother might have gotten to me before you had.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t have let him. But I <em> must </em>ask, what is a pretty thing like you doing with an accursed weapon anyway?” She tilted her head to the side, which caused her hat to follow with the movement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You blushed at the comment on your physical appearance, but you were more distracted by how soft she was being—you never imagined someone like her could be capable of having a feather-light touch. Slowly, you felt what you could only describe as your barely-forming bruises lifting, damaged tissue repairing itself with her help. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What does it matter? I’m defenseless either way. I’ll die either way,” you answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She tutted, her lips forming into a pout that eerily reminded you of Daniela’s, “It matters plenty. Aware as I am of having enemies, I always assumed they were limited to this part of the country. But a little ladybug tells me that you’re a foreigner...which place did you formerly call home?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A nervous chuckle left you at that - small talk. With your nemesis. What a funny little thought. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“California,” you stated simply. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She grimaced, lip curling in disgust. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina licked her lips, an action you found yourself too immersed in when it happened. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So much sun. I could never live in a place like that. It would kill my girls,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You kept forgetting she was their mother. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You love your daughters very much, don’t you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She knit her brows, “Of course, I do. What a preposterous question. Loving your children is a bare minimum expected of a parent.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Moved by her answer, you thought back to Daniela and Tiffany, the names they addressed her, the loyalty and seriousness with which they talked about her when she wasn’t present, “They love you very much too. I suppose that’s why I’m here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hmm, yes. I suppose so. They believed you would be able to cure my loneliness, as they so sweetly described. Bless their hearts,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And? Will you not even let me try, my Lady?” You stilled; <em> sarcastic or not, where did </em> that <em> come from </em>? “Do you not think you deserve happiness?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her nostrils flared, “I do not <em> think </em> , I <em> know </em> I do.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m still trying to figure out if you deserve <em> me </em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her hands loosened from around your neck then, completely healed. She grinned, shaking her head, <em> tsk </em>-ing and wagging a finger.</p>
<p>“Nice try,” she chuckled, brushing your hair away from your face and behind your ear, then trailing her fingers around the lobe to pat your cheek, “You think maidens haven’t tried to seduce me before? The Harvest will happen, with your virginity intact, regardless of what you do.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> The Harvest. The Harvest. The Harvest. </em>“I’ve been hearing that word way too damn much. What in the hell is it? Is it a ceremony? I think I have a right to know how you plan on killing me.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She bowed her head, “I agree.” She stood, and you watched her walk over to a dresser. She bent to open and retrieve something from the drawer, which you saw to be a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a cigarette holder. You sat up when she walked back to the couch, holding out the open pack towards you. You thought she looked proud when you declined.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What’s your diet like? Do you eat meat? Pork and beef and the like.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Okay… </em> You nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then perhaps you’re familiar with the process behind farmers fattening up their livestock to obtain the most quality out of their product. Pigs, cattle, poultry...they’re fed to their heart’s content, allowed to indulge and commit gluttony galore,” she explained, “The Harvest is very similar to that, though it’s the quality of your blood and overall cell count that matters most to us.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She lit her cigarette, which she had placed on the end of the holder, and the sound of the wheel clicking and the spark that followed gave you goosebumps. Her lips puckered around the holder, and she inhaled, slowly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When she exhaled, she continued, puffs of smoke leaving her mouth with each word, “You will stay here, but you will not be a guest. You will join us for dinners, but the purpose is not solely to satiate your mortal hunger. You will be safe from harm, but only until the next full moon. It is currently the new moon. Your blood should be packed with nutrients and vitamins and at its healthiest then, if all goes according to plan. Finally, we will take you to a kill chamber on the lowest levels of the castle, and drain you there.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> The next full moon. I got two weeks. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Normally, we’d keep you down in the dungeons, but that’s if there were plenty of maidens. I think it would do the girls good to have a human entertain them. You know, before you, we’d have a plethora of women at our disposal that we wouldn’t even have a waiting period until our next feeding. Unfortunately, for us - but lucky for you - you’ll have some time to think about your life and come to terms with any regrets you may have - whatever it is you humans do when the promise of death is so near,” She seemed amused at the thought. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You hated how smug she was being; there was a downside to having an overconfidence like hers, and it was overestimating her power over those who were weaker (humans like you, in this case). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How will you guarantee that I won’t escape if I’m free to roam around?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina’s eyes glowed, and she puckered her lips around the holder once more, taking in a long drag. She held this breath in until she was standing directly in front of you, still seated - you reached her knees. Then she bent, cornering you so your back hit the back of the couch. She used her free arm to help prop herself up, hand digging into the cushion beside your thigh. Meeting your eyes, she blew the smoke into your face to annoy you, and laughed when you looked away, crinkling your nose and coughing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cigarettes and vanilla. This was all you would know. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Naughty girl. You won’t escape me,” she husked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You sound so full of yourself,” you bit back, “I nearly took down your brother. And I might have if you hadn’t been there.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You hate me, don’t you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Your jaw tensed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Answer the question,” she repeated. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It felt like a trap, but you answered anyway, feeling emboldened, “What do you think? You’ve killed hundreds of thousands of people—perhaps more. Maybe it won’t be me, but someone will put an end to your reign of terror. I will be reported missing and my government will know who’s behind my disappearance,” you gritted through your teeth. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her face was a hair’s width away, her nose barely brushing against yours. You searched her yellow eyes for a reaction—a change in pupil size, perhaps—but to no avail. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank you,” she said, a response you didn’t expect. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“For what?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I just wanted to know the degree of leverage I could hold against you, and you’ve given me just that,” she said, a saccharine smile on her lips. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You gasped when you felt a hand caress your hip, but it was gone as quickly as it came. She was also standing again, and between her thumb and index finger, was the necklace you had stuffed in your pocket. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What are you…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina was making her way to the drawer again, setting down her cigarette holder so she could get something else. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When she returned, standing before you, you huffed and frowned at her indignantly, just wanting your choker back. She held up a letter opener in the shape of a bird-of-paradise, and positioned the blade against her palm, swiping it across the skin. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You cupped a hand over your mouth and swallowed your gasp when her blood dripped forth onto your shirt and pants. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Without taking her eyes off of yours, she gripped your necklace tightly in her fist, coating the looped plastic that looked like a bracelet in her large hand. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know I’d do anything for my daughters, don’t you? If you try to escape, I will massacre the entire village for their blood instead, however insufficient, as well as the rest of the surrounding villages in the area, and work my way outward. If you take this off, I will make sure it’s not just one funeral you came here to attend. And finally, if you so much as <em> try </em>to hurt my girls to get to me…” her nostrils flared, and her irises glowed, not golden, but a sickening orange, “...let’s just say the gods were kinder to Prometheus when they discovered his betrayal.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Great </em> . <em> I came here to kill her to prevent more deaths and now everyone’s lives rest on my compliance. One step forward, two steps back.  </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina grabbed your wrist, and pressed the choker into your palm, closing your fingers around it. She was getting blood everywhere, though she hadn’t a care in the world. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What is this? What did you do?” You asked when you gained control of your voice again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No matter where you go, we will find you. You’ll carry a part of me, something that can neither be washed away nor burnt. My girls will be able to track you down using this tag, or Heisenberg, if you prefer to reenact your little rough-housing. Do you understand everything I’ve told you tonight?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Shit. I need a new game plan </em> , you thought. From this moment forward, you had to choose your words carefully. You could still bring back her head at this rate. <em> Two weeks. </em>There was still a chance. You realized Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters needed you more for their Harvest and overall survival than you needed them to live. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You nodded, choosing to say nothing, the lack of response being the smartest avenue. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alcina, content, turned and headed for the doors you entered through earlier, “Clean yourself up, dinner will be served soon. I’ll be expecting you,” she said, before crouching down, and finally exiting the room, leaving you alone still pressed against the cushions of the couch, covered in her blood. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Pls pls pls look into Ivan Aivazovsky’s paintings, especially The Ninth Wave (1850) which is the title of this chapter; his maritime art is so beautiful. There is a painting in Al’s bedroom in one of the earlier promo pics that looks like it could be something of his (or even John Atkinson Grimshaw?? idk), and ever since I saw that back in February, I’ve been wanting so badly to write something about Al being an Ivan-hoe.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. adjectives make the best pet names</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Food is a love language for the Dimitrescus—it’s a given postulate at this point. This is your first dinner with the family, the first of what will soon be a dwindling few until you’re the main course.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m so behind on replying to comments but just know that I’ve seen your kind words and they are not in vain :’) Also, happy RE: Village release week!</p>
<p>Find the fic playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=CDdpd2xFQDS6xXDB9elr7g&amp;dl_branch=1 </p>
<p>Now, on with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Day 0</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As much as Daniela wanted to continue playing hooky, Emă finally forced her to start making “useful contributions to this family,” listing examples that included, but were not limited to, becoming “less of a headache for once and at least help set up the damn table.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Generally speaking, Emă didn’t want anything to do with you that didn’t involve meal prep. Her withdrawal symptoms were worsening, a detail she kept to herself, but you noticed the way she turned away to attempt to hide a wince at an oncoming migraine, or the strangled pauses she would make when addressing (berating) Daniela.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This left you alone with the youngest, the eternal teen, Tiffany, forever three days shy of her seventeenth birthday.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her head was the first to pop in to check on you once Lady Dimitrescu had left, sitting not-so-comfortably on the couch, soaked in blood. Tiffany didn’t appear fazed, but why would she when she’s definitely seen worse?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello again,” she had greeted with a small wave, a wide smile on her face, “We can’t have you eating at the table in this condition. C’mon, we’re gonna make you look so pretty for Mama--er, dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You caught her hiccup, and braced yourself, unsure what exactly went into making you ‘look pretty’ by their standards. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After picking up the leather gloves her mother left on the couch, Tiffany took you to her room, a chamber that was even larger than the last one you were in. Your eyes immediately widened at the textile library covering the entire West wall across from her king-size canopy bed on your right. Rows and rows of different types of cloth and fabric were organized by color and number, enough to create a gradient. The wall perpendicular to it had a desk, the size of a family dinner table for fourteen, littered with piles of sewing supplies and a bundle of what you assumed to be an unfinished project - a lengthy white dress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were several drawers and dressers and closets around the room, some of which were open to reveal hangers upon hangers of clothes, mostly black. In one of the corners stood a small army of bare mannequins that were the same height as Lady Dimitrescu, and it was clear Tiffany was responsible for much of the clothing and passion-for-fashion in the castle. If you didn’t know any better, you might have thought you had walked into a designer’s paradise, or a manufacturing company.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Neat-o, huh?” Tiffany asked, prideful of your speechlessness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It...it all seems so endless…” you answered, feeling dizzy at the onslaught of stimuli yet again, just trying to look around at everything. You spotted your jacket at the foot of her bed, right beside a sewing kit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed, “Ah! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seems...</span>
  </em>
  <span>you know, like the word ‘seams,’ the line that sews together--nevermind.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany loved a good pun, which made her an endearing conversational partner when the mood called for something lighter. A comfortable setting was exactly what you needed right now, and as you took in the rest of the details of Tiffany Dimitrescu’s room - the artificial vines and pastel flowers, the red and mustard yellow curtains, the regular yellow wallpaper, and the potted skulls growing succulents on her desk - you noticed that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>feel a bit calmer, morbid as the </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely-real </span>
  </em>
  <span>skulls were, you had to admit they looked pretty cool.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Tiffany said, and the prospect of fresh water touching your skin excited you. Her bathroom was of a decent proportionate size relative to her bedroom, which was still larger than any bathroom you had ever seen in your entire life. The walls were painted a canary yellow this time, and kept to the theme of floral and golden accents; even the pipes were gold, including the faucet, the towel rack, and the legs on the bathtub.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany examined the bloodstains on your clothes, “If it makes you feel any better, Mama doesn’t drip her own blood on just anyone. You’re special.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m special because I’m the last viable maiden around,” you said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maiden’s blood</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sanguis Virginis</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You were still wrapping your mind around all the information you were piecing together bit-by-bit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s true! But it’s like Dani mentioned, once you get to know Mama, you’d realize she’s not a monster. I know that’s pretty hard to believe considering, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but I think the next two weeks will show you that we’re just like any other family trying to get by, you know? Mama loves intensely. It’s always been ‘go big or go home’ for her. So, the Harvest...don’t take it personally. I do think, however, that deep down, Mama would like you as a person rather than food if the circumstances were different. Do you believe that things happen for a reason?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Delicately, Tiffany took the choker you barely remembered your hand still clutching onto, and placed that in the sink, already dotted in red spots. She then slipped a soft towel off the rack, which she ran under cold water, and was now cleaning the blood off of your arm. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kind of,” you answered, “I think we like to believe those things to feel more in control of our lives, human or not.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“See? That’s exactly what Mama would say. But I think her tone would be more condescending when saying the word ‘human,’” Tiffany chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you agree with Dani, then? Do you believe I was meant to meet your mother?” you returned the question.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany raised her head from tending to your arm; her eyes, which you had thought to be yellow, appeared as green as a verdant field, with specks of blue like the sky on a clear day. The colors pleasantly contrasted her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair framing her face, and all you could think was, </span>
  <em>
    <span>never judge a book by its cover</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she stated simply.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A period of silence stretched by as you let Tiffany finish wiping off the last bits of her Mama’s blood. You knew you could have easily washed your hands yourself, but you had a feeling she was doing this for the sole purpose of having company and someone new to talk to that wasn’t her sisters, mother, or uncle, whom she saw frequently already.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, your heart warmed at the thought of someone enjoying your mere presence. Until you remembered your objective. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With each second that passed, your mission grew blurier and more distant. Befriending Tiffany was a terrible idea - befriending any of them was since it would involve the mess of feelings that would undoubtedly distract you, something that was already happening. But what was that cliché? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Go ahead and run a bath or whatever. Meanwhile, I’m going to pick out a dress for you and I’ll knock once I’ve made my selection.” She draped the towel on the sink, now stained a dark pink, and left, closing the door behind her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alone once more, you avoided your face in the mirror and began running a bath for yourself, the seductive scents of Lady Dimitrescu still potent and clinging to you.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany sighed when she heard the sound of fluttering behind her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s this great thing called knocking, Dani,” she rolled her eyes, brushing away flint from her dress selection draped on the bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Never heard of it!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany drew her brows together in annoyance when the bed bounced from her older sister plopping down on it, spreading herself out like a starfish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Plus, why the fuck would I do something human like that when we can </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>pass through walls?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d ask who raised you but I’d be offending myself, too,” Tiffany shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela sat up when she noticed the row of clothing Tiffany was folding and fussing over.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Those </span>
  </em>
  <span>are the dresses you’ve chosen? I know you grew up with nuns but </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I guess old ‘habits’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> die hard.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You were cleaning the dried blood from under your nails when you heard a resounding </span>
  <em>
    <span>slap</span>
  </em>
  <span>, followed by a shrill “</span>
  <em>
    <span>OW!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dani</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You thought automatically, and you hurried to finish up so you could drain the bathtub, choosing not to wait for Tiffany’s knock. Once you stepped out, you slipped into the fluffy bathrobe Tiffany left for you, and quickly got to wrapping your hair into a towel. There was a new toothbrush and other dental essentials laid out for you which you quickly helped yourself to, not really sure why you were suddenly making such an effort to look as presentable as possible for a dinner preparing you for your death. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The choker was laid out as well, cleaned and dried of Dimitrescu’s blood. But no doubt, her essence remained. The plastic felt different, baptized and reinforced somehow. There was a noticeable resistance when you stretched it over your head to put it on, and when the necklace settled around your neck, it felt tighter, more snug, as if cold gentle hands were there once more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You tugged at it, and snapped the plastic against your skin. It wasn’t worth it to test Lady Dimitrescu’s warnings. A good chunk of your training was honing your endurance to time - extreme patience. You learned about time perception, and how vampiric creatures like them experienced the clock differently compared to mortals.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two weeks to them was nothing. But to you…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So you would have to wait. And obey orders for now. Just until you found points of weakness and ways around her rules. Subconsciously, you thought of ways to keep the girls away from the crossfire - this fight was between your family and the Lady after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And speaking of the Lady, you remembered to pick up your dirty clothing on the way out, where the portrait was tucked in the pocket of your sports bra, where the padding was secured.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When you exited the bathroom, you felt goosebumps rise on your skin at the instant temperature drop that greeted you. Daniela, who was seated on the edge of the bed and cradling the left side of her face, shot up to her feet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tiff’s bullying me,” she pouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You couldn’t help the snort that escaped you, “I heard. What in the world did you say?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>said…” she stopped suddenly, leaning in close and sniffing the air, “Holy shit, you smell like Ma.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Your hand flew to touch your choker. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah. The tag. Looks like it works perfectly fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany chuckled nervously, “Heh, this is awkward,” she said, scratching her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How does that work exactly? I don’t smell anything but the soap I used,” you said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s one of our quirks. Heightened sensory shit. It’s not exactly a scent, really. It’s more like magical familiarity? Like, ‘This being is part of my circle’ or ‘This being can be tracked down.’ There’s multiple uses for it, as goes for a lot of witchy stuff. The practice is supposed to echo that ‘blood of the covenant’ thing if it wasn’t obvious. Ma must’ve been pretty damn desperate to have used it on you,” Daniela smirked, “You must’ve given her the impression that you’d run away.” She stuck out her bottom lip at that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You nodded; there was no point in denying it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Looks like I’ve signed the implied contract by putting the necklace on, the contract that promises I’ll stay</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Emă won’t like this,” Tiffany uttered to Daniela, giggling, who ended up giggling as well. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, she won’t,” she snickered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not wanting to dwell on whatever inside joke they were laughing about, you changed the topic by gesturing to the dress they appeared to have picked out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that what I’ll be wearing to dinner?” you asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany perked, picking up the outfit by the shoulders so you could see how it looked full-length: a simple, off-the-shoulder chiffon red dress with a long-flowing skirt. Your eyes widened at the plunging neckline.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uhm...are you sure you’re dressing me up for a dinner?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span>. What else?” Daniela answered, though the slightly higher fluctuation of her voice and the way she dragged out her response suggested otherwise. You narrowed your eyes at her, suspicious.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And it...fits? It’ll fit me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I eyeballed your measurements and fixed it up real quick. I did say we were gonna make you look pretty,” Tiffany explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela scoffed, “If you had your way, Tailor-Tiff, she’d be wearing a curtain with a turtleneck. Or a ghost sheet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She burst into insects before Tiffany’s hand could hit her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Apparently, the dress called for a corset - Daniela threatened to throw a tantrum if you had refused. You didn’t think it was that big of a deal, so you let the sisters secure it around your torso over the dress, failing to notice an extra knot Daniela tied on the last loop. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You studied yourself in the mirror once they were done, after having slipped into more comfortable shoes than your dirty hunting boots scuffed from earlier tonight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If the plunging neckline wasn’t enough, the dark brown leather corset had pushed your breasts up to your clavicle, giving off the impression that you had an above-average-sized chest to begin with, not to mention the amount of exposed skin due to the off-the-shoulder design was already quite obscene. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But you had to admit, deep down, you did feel pretty - prettier than you had felt in years; the sisters had dried and styled your hair so it tumbled down the sides of your face, complementing its shape in a way you never knew how to do. These were things you never worried about; you couldn’t even remember the last time you didn’t just hop into a pair of sweats for training or daily errands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, you were being pampered like you were their personal doll, which sounded even more wrong without the particular context of the situation you were in. At the same time, it felt like you were bonding, and if the Harvest wasn’t so prominent and taking up space at the forefront of your mind, you could have fully immersed yourself in this strange experience of young women involving you in a little dress-up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Do they do these things with their mother? </span>
  </em>
  <span>You wondered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Do they play around with her hat or watch her do makeup or help button up her dress? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Does she remind them they’re beautiful both naturally and with lipstick and mascara? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Is Lady Dimitrescu the one behind Daniela’s smeared look? Because it made her appear the right amount of unhinged to intimidate their prey? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Is she the reason little Tiffany is into tailoring? Because she wants to use her talents and passions to clothe her beloved guardian, infusing each thread with love and care? And what about Emă —the one you noticed resembled her mother the most in terms of mannerisms, like a mirrored disciple. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>For the three daughters so loved their mother, they showed it in every way they could—their hobbies, their intentions, their decisions…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela’s cold hands on your upper arms pulled you from your train of thought. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dinner is served,” she smirked, then nudged you to signal her playfulness, “Okay, okay, that was fucked up. Let’s just go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was about to say…” Tiffany shook her head disapprovingly at her sister. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The walk to the dining room was not unlike the walk from the dungeons: a little awkward and mostly silent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Occasionally, Daniela protested to using her legs and would turn into moths and fly alongside you and Tiffany in swarms. Eventually, after what you were sure must have been twenty minutes, you arrived at the dining hall. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Which you were surprised by it not being a hall at all, but a room that was no bigger than Tiffany’s bathroom. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what you’re thinking,” Daniela grinned, seemingly reading your mind again, “‘My, my, this is tiny as fuck! I thought these bitches were rich. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Siiiigh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.’ Well, we’re still filthy rich, but we prefer to keep things warm and cozy since it’s usually just the four of us. Uncle will be joining us tonight, though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The room </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> look warm and cozy, as Daniela so eloquently described, with a small rectangular rustic wooden table in the very center, on top of an intricate rug; on the table was a distributed set of place mats, glasses, and silverware - you counted six. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wallpaper here was a dark forest green, and there were shelves of wine and books pressed up against the walls all around, with lit candelabras positioned atop whatever surface was left available. You spotted a record player in all the organized clutter, but there was no vinyl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The candles were what gave the dining room a soft orange glow, and the pleasant smell of scented wax, with the subtle flames, reminded you of the holiday season. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You wondered if they celebrated. Did the rest of the castle look just like this during those times? Your heart sank when you realized you might never know. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Holidays without their mother are collateral damage, but it has to be done. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela directed you to the seat beside the head of the table, pulling out the chair for you. The largest chair in the room just an arm’s distance away did not escape your roaming scrutiny, and your heart thumped against your rib cage, brought even closer by the corset, at the thought of being in close proximity with the Lady again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You sat in awkward silence, twiddling your thumbs in your lap when you heard a record scratch behind you, letting you know someone was inserting a vinyl into the previously empty player. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You were prepared to hear anything, since this family seemed to be full of wild cards, and botched presumptions were what landed you here in the first place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which was why you couldn’t help a smile when the opening notes of Claude DeBussy’s “Clair de Lune” started playing. If you were being honest with yourself, you found the choice oddly cute for beings like them, for someone like Daniela, as if she were indulging her inner child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re such a damn Romantic,” you heard Tiffany say to Daniela, followed with a poke to the ribs. Daniela squealed, which encouraged Tiffany to tickle her even more, chasing her around the room. Daniela broke out into moths, then, in attempts to avoid her little sister’s attacks. Tiffany followed suit—now there were swarms flying all around over your head, the sound of their maniacal laughter nearly drowning out the music. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost nice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then you heard the sound of footsteps, heels clacking on the hardwood floor, getting louder and louder as their owner approached. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Soon, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> entered the room, crouching low so she could fit through the door. Alcina gripped the brim of her hat so it wouldn’t fall off of her head, and when she straightened, her eyes met yours first, the ghost of a smirk on her lips as she regarded you, hungrily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Your overly-exposed chest definitely did not escape her attention as she approached the table, carrying a singular plate in one hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela and Tiffany reformed, their laughter slowly dying down. Daniela took the empty seat next to yours, bouncing in her chair as she did, a big ball of energy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Lady at this time set the plate she was carrying down in front of you on the place mat—your meal. Your hearty meal full of food that would improve the overall health (and taste) of your blood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Heis will be bringing in the rest - he insisted. But I wanted to deliver this to you myself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Christ</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you thought. If preparing to die meant you got meals like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you might have ambushed this place a while ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On your plate was a serving of Romanian vegetable pilaf along with some seasoned meat and a side of creamed spinach. You picked up on the garlic, an ingredient which surprised you.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought vampires couldn’t stand garlic,” you said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina pulled out her chair and took a seat, leaning into her arms as she rested her elbows on the table. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh. I guess we’re all wearing plunging necklines tonight—oh, my God, make observations at a higher elevation, you perv</span>
  </em>
  <span>, your voice rang in your ears. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I may like my women well-read...but you, my dear, have been consuming too much Mr. Stoker and vampiric caricature, I’m afraid,” she started, “While I’m not particularly fond of the perennial plant myself, it makes for a useful ingredient for the women I keep...garlic helps with blood flow and circulation. Why would we ever stay away?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So she makes </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> handle all her garlicky engagements,” you turned at the male voice and watched Heisenberg enter the dining room, “However, while I hate to admit it, if there’s one thing my sister has, it’s taste. She wouldn’t have a booming business otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did little Heis just pay me a compliment?” Alcina clutched at her floral necklace, feigning shock.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get used to it,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bold of you to assume you’re my only source of compliments.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He still had on his hat and the clothes he wore earlier, but now beneath a pink apron, and you entertained the idea that Tiffany made it especially for him; he was pushing a tray of what appeared to be silver plates of raw, red meat and began setting them down one by one on the table, starting with Daniela, who rubbed her hands together and licked her lips once she received her food. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She picked up her fork and was about to dig in before she stopped and looked up at her mother when she cleared her throat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, do I have to wait? Emă will take </span>
  <em>
    <span>forever</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get here,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Darling, you know she hasn’t been feeling well. The least you can do is be sensitive to your sister’s pain,” Alcina said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela pouted, but she put her fork down, making a face at Tiffany instead who returned her expression with a disgusted one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Pain...She’s talking about Emă’s headaches</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that what happens when you don’t get your daily dose of blood? You experience withdrawal symptoms?” you asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina sat back, giving Heisenberg enough room to set her plate down on the mat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently so,” she answered tersely.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean you don’t know? Until now?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are the last of a dwindling population of maidens in all the villages within a hundred-mile radius. We have never gone this long without feeding before,” she explained, crossing her arms. The rest of her body language and the brevity of her responses suggested her discomfort at this topic, and it made sense; you were a human asking questions about specific conditions surrounding their lack of blood, the blood </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>would be supplying. To what extent did you even have rights?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Emă arrived, there was a clear shift in the mood. Alcina brightened, though Emă’s frown told her that her migraine was still persistent. Then, when her eyes landed on you, sitting on her mother’s left hand side, you thought they glowed orange. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I miss when we kept humans in the dungeons where they belong,” she growled as she took the seat across from you on the Lady’s right hand side. She was rubbing at her temple. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina sighed, reaching out to brush her fingers through Emă’s brown hair, “Make sure to clean your plate, love bug. I will make you some herbal tea before bed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, mom—mother, I mean, yes, mother,” she quickly remedied when she remembered she was in your company. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me try healing you, Em,” Tiffany offered beside her, placing her palm on her sister’s forehead. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It won’t work, it’ll come back. You know what I need,” Emă said, suddenly sounding small, “I need something more long-term. That will only mask the pain.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll stop you from groaning every 2 seconds. There,” Tiffany pulled back; Emă did appear better. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop rejecting modern medicine and admit you need help,” Daniela quipped. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You first, hypocrite,” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Cool. Emă appears to be back to her usual offending self. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela had picked up her fork again when Alcina clapped her hands together, “I think we should say grace,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“AWW!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dani, since you’re so vocal tonight, why don’t you lead?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>But I’m hungry!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The sooner you listen, the sooner we can all eat.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can hear the human’s belly from here,” Emă added. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You reddened, embarrassed. You yourself couldn’t even hear your stomach growling. It was undoubtedly their heightened senses detecting your hungry frequencies. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Grace,” you began, “First garlic, and now you say grace?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina held her hand out for you to take, which you regarded hesitantly for a moment before slipping your own into her palm, the same one she had slit earlier, but there was no wound in sight. Time slowed as her fingers closed delicately around your hand, looking so small in hers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Small talk with my nemesis. Hand-holding with my nemesis. What could be next?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her skin was so cold, like touching the glass of a window in the early morning. You were hyper aware of how soft her palm felt, the same palms that had rested against your clavicle less than two hours ago. Her nails were manicured and painted a clear polish—you never noticed that until now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Us ‘vampires’ believe in something, too, you know,” Alcina answered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You gasped softly when Daniela took your other hand in hers, and you watched them complete a ring around the table—Daniela holding hands with Heisenberg holding hands with Tiffany, and so on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela cleared her throat, racking her brain for something to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, I got it, okay. Ahem.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You closed your eyes and bowed your head when they did. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Grandmother Miranda,” Daniela began, “We thank you for helping me wrangle another grizzly and giving us this kickass din—,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dani,” Alcina said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...and giving us this </span>
  <em>
    <span>bear-y delicious </span>
  </em>
  <span>dinner?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tiffany cackled, but you could tell she tried to hold it in, and apologized quickly after. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela continued, and you could </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear</span>
  </em>
  <span> her smile at the cheesy disruption, “Uhm, we also thank you for each other. Eating all together as a family is rare these days, so we cherish the precious time we share even though it means there’s a lull in production. May we continue to bond in preparation to, during, and after the Harvest,” she paused, sneaking an eye open, and spotted you in her peripheral when she did. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! And...and thank you, for blessing us with the human…” she concluded, and stated your name, “She’s really cool and I think she will bring us all closer together in the end. Ma seems brighter alrea—,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“--</span>
  <span>In life and in death, glory to Mother Miranda! Thank you, Dani,” Alcina finished for her. Everyone unclasped their hands, and yours was noticeably warm again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought </span>
  </em>
  <span>you were hungry, slow-poke,” Emă said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>thought you guys wanted me to lead,” Daniela fired back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heisenberg laughed, a deep boisterous rumbling, “Dani-girl, you always did like to ramble. But I agree, let’s dig in.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was packing more prayers but I guess they’ll go unappreciated now,” she said as she messily scooped up a large bite of raw meat into her mouth, smearing its juices and blood all over her chin and cheeks. Everyone started eating, so you did the same. Yours was the only cooked meal at the dining table. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This is an interesting development</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>they pray to someone named Mother Miranda</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dani calls her ‘Grandmother.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Speaking of packing stuff…” Heisenberg spoke up; he peered at you over his shades and you returned his hard gaze, matching the tension. The gash you left on his face was still red but had since coagulated, and you wondered why Tiffany hadn’t used her magic on him yet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thought you’d like to know that I retrieved your knapsack in the carriage. Along with the basket of coffee you brought.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You gasped when you saw him hold up your belongings. He placed the basket in the center of the table, the beige liquid sloshing in their jars. Daniela rested a hand over her heart. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You brought goodies! What is it?” She took one and shook it around, distributing the coffee grounds that had settled to the bottom. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s, uh, the coffee I like to drink in the morning. It’s mixed with sweet milk—milk, vanilla extract, honey, and pumpkin spice. I had wanted to bring something for the wine and bread yesterday,” you explained. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Coffee is the last thing Dani needs right now,” said Tiffany, which Daniela just stuck out her tongue at. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, yes. The welcome basket my girls and I prepared for you. Tell me, how did you find the wine?” Lady Dimitrescu asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All the attention was on you, awaiting your opinion, no, your review on their wine. Even Emă was looking at you without contempt for the first time since sunset, but her brow was raised in suspension, just like her mother’s was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It…” you huffed through your nose, feeling the pressure accumulate from all their eyes on you, but only one pair mattered, and you met the Lady’s glowing, patient gaze as you stated, “It was the best wine I’d ever tasted.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heisenberg puffed out his cheeks as he let out a sigh of relief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This calls for a bottle!” Daniela exclaimed, pushing out of her seat and grabbing an unopened one from many on the shelves. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We knew what you’d say, but good answer nonetheless, human,” Emă said as she dove back into her meal, getting blood all over her mouth too. Once Daniela popped the cork, she went around pouring wine into everyone’s glasses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She treated the task delicately, holding the bottle one-handed and at its lower half like a true professional, and making a twisting motion once she filled a glass at a decent mark to cut the stream. Not a drop spilled. Alcina smiled proudly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You surprise me everyday with your pouring, Dani,” she praised. But the backhanded compliment did not fall on deaf ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela pouted, “I’m never going to escape the Great Shatter of ‘34, am I?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> gave it a name solidifies it forever in history,” Emă said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dammit.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daniela got to Heis’ glass, who politely declined, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>will be helping myself to one of these coffee things, thank you very much.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You had only made four, one for each of the Dimitrescu women since you had yet to meet him at the time, but considering the injuries Heisenberg sustained tonight, you thought it best to bite your tongue instead of giving him a chance to hold that against you. The longer you could keep your skin intact, the better.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“By the way, Ma,” Daniela began slyly when she returned to her seat and scooted the chair back closer to the table, “Don’t you like the dress we chose for our dinner guest tonight?” she asked, referring to your attire.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina narrowed her eyes at her daughter, already seeing through the transparent question. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It looks lovely,” the Lady stated simply, “Did you make it, Tiffany?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Mama,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wonderful handiwork, my dearest,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You could tell those words made her night, “Thank you, Mama!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are so welcome. The red really brings out her eyes,” Lady Dimitrescu said. But it was not your eyes she had been looking at.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After dinner, you asked to go to the washroom, needing some alone time to clean up and gather your thoughts, not to mention look through the backpack Heisenberg returned to you.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You wouldn’t be able to tell for sure, but it was obvious he, or the Lady, went through your things to check for suspicious items. There was nothing missing - your water canteen, the first aid kit, and the talisman were all still there. Then there was your cellphone, which your heart leapt at first sight, but as luck would have it, the damn thing was dead and you neglected to bring a charger, not that there was an outlet nearby anyway if you had remembered to bring one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling exhausted from a rather eventful day, you looked around for things to further kill and extend your alone time. You spotted a jar of dinner mints on a tiny shelf, and helped yourself to a few. There were a few perfume bottles strewn about, and since you were already there, you took to sampling them all, positioning the nozzle away from you and spritzing into the air, and walking through the mist. You noticed, against your wishes, that none of them were vanilla.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This family was the very definition of opulent - the washroom alone probably contained items that totaled more than your entire apartment back in Los Angeles. The metals making up the pipes and the faucets and whatnot were all either gold or silver. You had yet to see something completely arbitrary and foolish, like a diamond-encrusted showerhead, but if you ever did, nothing would shock you.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And it wasn’t even day one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I should be getting back, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you thought after going through their baubles and trinkets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So you exited the washroom, only to find yourself in dimmer and quieter halls. After a few minutes of navigating your way back, turning through multiple similar corridors, you found the dining room empty, and even the silverware was gone, though the finished plates still remained. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If I can wield a blade, I can do the same with a fork - nice to know they’ve thought that through.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Where everyone disappeared off to, you hadn’t a clue, but you had bigger problems than locating the castle’s own inhabitants. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s been a long day</span>
  </em>
  <span> - </span>
  <em>
    <span>where will I even sleep?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a sigh, you turned away from the dining room, remembering a large hall where you were certain there was a couch. If anyone wondered where you were, the choker was around your neck indefinitely, until further notice, so you decided that would be their problem, and not yours. They should be thankful you hadn’t made any attempts to escape.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You found what you were looking for soon enough, and set your backpack down on one end of the couch, the largest one positioned in the center and near the lit fireplace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment you laid your head down on one of the throw pillows, sleep came almost instantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was passing by when she noticed ruffles of red draped on the couch. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Alcina realized it was you, her brows shot up, since Daniela should have shown you to your bedchamber. But she shook her head, disappointed that she would ever entrust such a task to Daniela considering where her headspace was. Her daughter arranged this on purpose.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She approached the couch, prepared to wake you, but paused to study your sleeping form, curled in a fetal position which she knew must have been uncomfortable with the corset still laced around your torso. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But you appeared so at peace despite being in a place like this, and in spite of the expiration date she assigned to your life. All the other maidens in the past would wail and moan throughout the night in the dungeons, shrouding the castle in a perpetual state of feeling haunted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then there was you. Sleeping, probably dreaming. It was as if you weren’t in a threatening position at all. It was as if you were home.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tentatively, she reached down, only wanting to feel the steady pulse on your exposed neck. She had yet to feel withdrawal symptoms as intense as Emă’s, but she would be lying if she didn’t admit her thirst for blood was starting to get to her. She could feel herself salivating from just smelling the blood flowing through you, from just hearing your pounding heart circulating and pumping constantly, from just seeing your flushed skin, craving the crimson vitality beneath it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina, too deep in thought, let her fingers hover over your neck, tips brushing over your pulsepoint. But your subconscious must have registered her touch, because you stirred, your hand raising to the side of your neck where you felt a ticklish sensation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the swift movement, your fingers found and entwined with hers, and Alcina stilled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This woke you, your eyes fluttering open, wondering what it was you touched that felt oh, so cold. You turned your head, and found yourself gazing into irises that appeared a bluish-grey, but only for a moment before they turned yellow again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Were you dreaming? You must have been. What was Lady Dimitrescu doing watching you sleep? </span>
  <em>
    <span>And why hasn’t she pulled back?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Most importantly, why haven’t I?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You gasped softly, a delayed reaction overdue. She pulled her hand back to rest at her side, and you sat up in an instant, your brain finally waking up with the rest of you. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What...what are you doing?” you breathed, chest rising and falling with the action. Lady Dimitrescu looked away, her composure returning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This couch is not meant to be slept on. I will not have you loitering here. Come,” she beckoned, straightening her posture and holding her head high, walking ahead and expecting you to follow after her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rolling your eyes, irritated that your slumber had been interrupted, you grabbed your backpack and slipped your feet back into your shoes, and begrudgingly ran after her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Your bedchamber, their equivalent to a shoddy guest room, was simple by their standards, but to you, it was the most extravagant room you were meant to sleep in. The walls were a deep velvet maroon, which matched the color scheme of the sheets on the queen-sized canopy bed. Directly across was an unlit furnace - there were chains and restraints snaking down from attachments on the wall, which you chose to ignore for now, too tired to imagine the gorey torture scenes that might have taken place here. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The human-sized bathrooms will be to your left outside of this room. And it would do your ribs well to get out of those clothes,” Alcina advised.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” you said, then proceeded to stare down awkwardly at your corset, unsure how to properly remove one. You reached behind you and pulled at a loop, hoping it would unravel with ease, but it only seemed to tighten the garment. Alcina watched your helplessness in fascination before she, too, started feeling frustrated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you aware that you’re struggling now because you’ve laced it improperly in the first place?” she asked with an audible huff.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Lady Obvious,” you gritted through your teeth, “And I’m not the one who laced this.” Exasperated when you felt no difference in the corset’s snug embrace, your arms lay limp at your sides in defeat. You were already at the edge of the bed - you might have plopped face down then and there. But the Lady had yet to abandon your doorway, ogling the performance you gave on human limitations.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pitying you, and not wanting to nurse a maiden with broken bones sustained from sheer stupidity, Alcina walked over and stood directly behind you, her presence and shadow prickling the hairs on your neck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can best my werewolf brother but a simple corset has rendered you useless?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If I can cut through skin, I can certainly cut through fucking leather,” you countered, turning around to face her, craning your neck so you could look up at her. She took a step forward, backing you up, and the foot of the bed hit the back of your legs, forcing you to sit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She bent, placing her hands on either side of you, trapping you once more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Such a filthy mouth on a pretty face…” she said, “You’re quite bold for someone in a tight situation and needs my help.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And will you? Will you actually help?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Try asking me nicely.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You wanted to defy her, to keep being stubborn. To deny you needed her for anything, even something as simple as undressing for bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>need her—for your job, for your vengeance, and now, most unexpectedly, for wrangling a corset. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look. I’ve never worn one of these before. I wasn’t gonna tell Tiffany or Daniela ‘no.’ Will you please get me out of this?” You asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her lips curved into a pleased smile, reaching to tug at your choker, sighing your name, “—word of advice for the next fortnight: I adore obedience. Get up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled away as you hopped to your feet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Turn around,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You tensed when you felt her fingers at your lower back, working out the tangled loops. If you didn’t hate Daniela before, you completely abhorred her now—you knew she did this on purpose. How convenient of her, her sisters, and their uncle to disappear, leaving you to your own devices after dinner. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alcina pulled a little too tightly at one loop, causing you to gasp and lose your balance, and fall towards the bed, bent over the edge. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tease,” the Lady murmured behind you, pulling at the strings, drawing you back towards her. Perhaps you could use your effect on her to your advantage. She said maidens had tried seducing her before, but there had been plenty of them, easily disposable women in the eyes of your target. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was the law of supply and demand in the works. And you had the upper hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax,” she commanded, tugging on you again, “You're so tense.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Smart woman like you can’t figure out why that is?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Enlighten me,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The corset loosened in that moment, giving you enough room to wiggle out. A sigh of relief flowed from your lips, and you moaned in spite of yourself as you clutched at your aching abdomen. You turned, facing her again, hand at your chest to shield your cleavage and salvage </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>dignity. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I bet I make you nervous too, don’t I?” You asked, delivering the question as steadily as possible. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nervous</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Excuse me?” You expected her reaction. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t you famished? The only thing standing between you and survival is a layer of flesh. And I stand here at your mercy.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Patience is a virtue. A virtue I have. You are the lamb to my slaughter, not the other way around.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You scoffed, glaring at her and shaking your head, “To be objectified by you…” you trailed off. You couldn’t explain it, the way it made you feel to be desired through the lens of her female gaze. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She hummed, “Would you prefer I address you by something else, a pet name, perhaps?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not what I—,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lamb? Morsel? Prey?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You groaned again, this time in frustration. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Brat?” She raised her brow, challenging you to oppose her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just my name is fine. Even the way you say it sounds different, like you’re tasting it, aerating it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not your name I want to taste,” she said, making you flush redder than your dress. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps...not a noun,” Alcina tapped at her chin, pretending to ponder her choices seriously, “But an adjective. Irresistible. Mouth-watering. Ambrosial.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>You tried to swallow, but found your throat too dry. She chuckled, bending once more so she was at your eye-level. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are your attempts to intimidate me supposed to season me or something?” You asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Blood tastes better when the victim is scared senseless. Speaking of which...Trembling,” she whispered. “Fragrant,” when she noted the mixed perfumes you had sampled, “Sleepy,” when she noticed your heavy eyelids. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her retreating footsteps might have lulled you into a deep slumber. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” you called out, the fog surrounding your brain finally clearing enough to bear a productive thought. The footsteps stopped. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I...I should’ve brought this up earlier, but my aunt will be wondering where I am. I need your permission to pay a visit to the village. You wouldn’t want to raise suspicions and have people come looking for me, would you?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she said, halfway out the door, “I don’t.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the youngest Dimitrescu is a traumacore &amp; dark cottagecore-whore who loves pastels, but she’s also a goth who dresses mostly in black - Persephone. A true daughter of Demeter. (headcanon not exclusive to this fic!) </p>
<p>Let's be friends on my socials!</p>
<p>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>- I have an #itav tag! Including, but not limited to, aesthetic, general vibes, shitposts, and pretty quotes.<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. call me by her name</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dinner with the Dimitrescus is one thing, breakfasts with them are another. Daniela isn’t fully convinced her Ma sees you as solely food, and Emӑ nearly breaks her over-200-year-old no-crying streak.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope the Dimitrescus had the best Mother’s Day ever (and to everyone else if it applies!) ^_^ That was a funny little video game Capcom made. Did everyone try the chicken? I thought the chicken was lovely. </p><p>I think we all deserve a bit of fluff. Happy reading!</p><p>Find the fic playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WpBjEZdLQcVE8smHK8CCM?si=3Mf4no2QRh6zQAHs-mTGMw</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You had settled once again into a deep slumber the moment your head hit the pillow. And no, Lady Dimitrescu had definitely <em> not </em>been there to see that you were asleep when she went to check on you half an hour later. She most certainly did not check on you at all.</p><p> </p><p>But that wasn’t what Daniela witnessed, fluttering about the halls as she usually did until exhaustion eventually washed over her. Spinning around a corner, she spotted her mother quietly slipping out of one of their numerous guestrooms, and she reformed and ducked behind a plinth supporting a large ivory vase. </p><p>The vase wobbled, and her arm shot up to keep it from falling, admonishing it with a finger to her lips and a <em> shush! </em></p><p> </p><p>She peeked from her hiding space, easily concealed by the vase’s wide shape, and watched as Alcina got closer and closer. When she noticed her mother carrying your brown corset in her hands, Daniela gasped, causing the vase to shake and, in turn, her to tumble backwards until she fell flat on her bottom.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Crap! </em>” she hissed, still trying to be as quiet as possible. But the plinth followed to join her, and instinctively, she punched an arm upward when the vase plummeted to avoid having it hit her; the ivory shattered upon contact with her fist, the noise echoing throughout that level of the castle. </p><p> </p><p>Daniela winced, burying her fingers in her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the footsteps stop for a moment, then continue in her direction, and become louder and--</p><p> </p><p>“It seems the mice have made it from the dungeons all the way to the second floor,” Alcina sighed. She bent to pick up Daniela by the arm, who peered at her from between her fingers covering her eyes in shame.</p><p> </p><p>“Hullo, Ma,” she said, putting on her best innocent smile.</p><p> </p><p>Alcina gently set her down, shaking her head, “Make sure you get some rest, bedbug.”</p><p>Daniela frowned when she started walking away, and quickly sprinted after her, reaching to take a handful of her white dress.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Ma-a-a </em>, wait,”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes?”</p><p> </p><p>Alcina stopped, looking down when Daniela softly tugged on her dress to get her attention.</p><p> </p><p>“You went to see the human,” she stated, pointing to the corset in Alcina’s hand. </p><p> </p><p><em> Oh dear, here we go </em>, Alcina thought. “She had fallen asleep in one of the living rooms. Speaking of which, Dani, I thought I had told you to see that she made it to her chamber after dinner when she was finished in the washroom. What happened to you?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela pouted, mustering the bravest face she could, “What’s happened to <em> you </em>, Ma?”</p><p> </p><p>Alcina’s brows shot up in disbelief at the returned question, “I beg your pardon?” </p><p> </p><p>“Emӑ first lied about the woman being a maiden because she said we’d have to eat her right away. Why are you keeping her alive until the full moon if we’re so starved then? That’s two whole weeks away.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dani--,”</p><p> </p><p>“Then she’s given her own room instead of being kept down in the dungeons? She gets to eat at the dinner table and say grace with us? I’m just trying to understand, why, if she’s supposed to be killed like the others, why are you treating her differently? Like...like she <em> matters </em>,”</p><p> </p><p>Alcina drew her lips into a hard line, thinking of a response that would convince Daniela that this was a serious business preparation and (<em>absolutely</em>) nothing more. She should have expected this confrontation from the only daughter she had who would ever dare question her. She thought of the practical reasons she was keeping you alive instead of harvesting you right away - if you were fed and taken care of the same way a farmer would oversee his cattle or a salesman his products, their <em>commodities</em>, it would yield blood of the best quality, especially since you were the last one, that they knew of, left. Secondly, it was the new moon, the lunar symbol of new beginnings; as practicing witches, waiting until the full moon would ensure more powerful and intense results in regards to your virginal properties. </p><p> </p><p>But Daniela knew all that. Alcina knew she knew all that. When Daniela first set her sights on Benedikte, a man with a rare blood type, she was able to wait until the moment was right, so the mechanics behind their process, the patience and the tenacity and the tediousness, Daniela knew to the T - after all, she had had almost two centuries of experience. </p><p>Her questions stemmed from her fondness of you, from her desperation for a new friend. </p><p>Daniela had warmed up to you, whether Alcina liked it or not; Daniela had already started seeing you and Alcina <em> together </em>, whether Alcina liked it or not; Daniela had been exposed to a disruption in a regular pattern she didn’t normally associate with her mother, whether Alcina liked it or not.</p><p>And when Daniela had a goal in mind, it was hard to dissuade her from letting the idea go. Her dedication and ambition was what made her a brutal hunter out in the field. The way she didn’t have any patience anywhere else, but when it came to stalking a prey…</p><p> </p><p>“She <em> does </em>matter, Dani. She will keep this family alive with all ten pints we can extract until I am able to use our connections to locate new potential sources. We can’t afford to keep targeting the same round of villages without damaging our economic gain due to population decrease. What’s a kingdom without subjects, anyway? Plus, your uncle has already been trying to see what he can do about international shipments at his factory in order to sustain our House along with his. </p><p>But for now, we have <em> her </em> . Someone physically fit and whose protectiveness for the village we can harness as leverage. You’re allowed to have fun and play games while you can. Just don’t forget why she’s here. And don’t forget our duty to each other: to stay <em> alive </em>. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”</p><p> </p><p>What else could she do but nod? Alcina was trying hard to be a mother and a businesswoman and a House Lord all at once. </p><p> </p><p><em> Which is why she deserves this break more than ever before things get real serious, </em>the devil on Daniela’s shoulder whispered. </p><p>Daniela might have to accept her mother’s words sooner rather than later, but if she and her sisters were permitted to have fun and play games, why should Alcina be excluded from such family activities? She already enjoyed toying around with you anyway; it would be hypocrisy if she denied the thrill she felt from merely watching you squirm, and Alcina was a prideful woman of her word.</p><p> </p><p>“In the meantime, my patience will only wear thin if you continue this insolence. And get your head out of the gutter,” Alcina tapped the corset on Daniela’s forehead, “I don’t want you thinking there will ever be anything going on between me and a <em> mortal </em>on death row. Do I make myself clear?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela scrunched her nose. <em> Perfectly, </em>she thought, nodding and cocking her head to the side and smiling widely—her mouth was still smeared with blood from dinner. In reality, what Alcina told her went through one ear and out the other. </p><p> </p><p>She regarded Daniela’s silent obedience with caution. Something told her this would be the longest two weeks of her immortal life.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Day 1</p><p> </p><p>You awoke to the smell of vanilla, and the faintest hint of cigarette smoke.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, you forgot where you were, thinking you were in Los Angeles, and then Aunt Anca’s, before consciousness seeped through into your senses, and you opened your eyelids, half-expecting to see <em> her </em> staring right back at you. <em> I could’ve sworn her irises were blue-grey for a brief moment, right before they turned gold. </em></p><p> </p><p>Alas, you weren’t, and she wasn’t, but you instead found the maroon and golden tapestry that made up the canopy hovering above you. You lied there, on your back, waiting for complete wakefulness. </p><p> </p><p><em> The village </em>. </p><p>You remembered asking for the Lady’s permission, and she had given it to you. You didn’t know what time it was - there appeared to be no clock in sight in your room, but you figured it time to get up anyway in order to extend your limited stay back at Anca’s, and possibly contact Umbrella for some back-up - tools, reliable communication devices, weapons, and whatnot. </p><p>Whatever they sent you, you could hide around the castle. The family had plenty of drawers and vases and containers they weren’t even utilizing for their intended purposes anyway.</p><p> </p><p>You just...needed to be away from Lady Dimitrescu’s ever-looming presence. Which was impossible given her influence in this part of the country and the stupid tag around your neck, but a forest away would have to do for now. </p><p> </p><p>You hopped out of bed, still wearing the red dress since no one had given you a change of clothes or told you where to find any. </p><p>But you noticed a folded white square in the corner of your eye, neatly placed at the foot of your bed—perhaps you had some considerate visitors when you were asleep after all. </p><p> </p><p>You immediately assumed it was Tiffany—Daniela was too distracted, Emă hated your guts since she had yet to consume, well, your <em> guts </em>, and Lady Dimitrescu made it very clear she only saw you as prey. Tiffany, on the other hand, while not so different in viewpoint from her loved ones, seemed to see you as a doll. A toy, but one she was more careful handling than the rest. </p><p> </p><p>You weren’t about to complain. Not when their so-called psychological torturous ways were degrees better than any American workplace. Now <em> that </em>was a soul-sucking system. </p><p> </p><p><em> ‘The human-sized bathrooms will be to your left outside of this room,’ </em>you recalled, so you gathered your lengthy skirt, the change of clothes, slipped into your shoes, and exited your chamber to get ready for the day, which you mentally prepared to be a long one. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Emă’s head hurt—that wasn’t new. But the migraines and vertigo weren’t too intense today as opposed to last night. </p><p> </p><p>She blamed it on you, of course. Upsetting the pace of their daily lives. She was only thankful she would be getting some fill out of it soon. </p><p> </p><p>For now, she trusted Alcina and every decision. It was her duty as the eldest and her mother’s right-hand woman after all. But if she had her way, she would have killed you yesterday, before you even had the chance to be presented to her mother. You would solve all her problems. </p><p> </p><p>She awoke to the new day with her head pounding, the darkness of her room doing nothing to alleviate the insistent throbs. She needed maiden’s blood, yes, but she also needed Mom. To have Mom run soothing fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp to ease the pain away; to listen to Mom talk about their next course of action or complain about the toils of running a distillery, or bash Uncle Heis in the cruel older-sisterly way only she and Emă knew how; to have Mom reassure her that this period of suffering was only temporary. </p><p>This was her main objective as she navigated around the corridors in a swarm, heading for Alcina’s bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>Halfway down a hall, right before a sharp turn, she picked up on her mother’s scent and reformed hurriedly, hoping to run into Alcina and throw affectionate arms around her waist. She was excited, forever looking forward to the small moments when she could have her mom’s attention all to herself, and not have to fight her bumbling sisters for it.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Mom—!”</p><p> </p><p>The lack of footsteps should’ve been her first clue. <em> It’s this stupid headache, I can’t fucking hear myself think! </em></p><p> </p><p>You and Emă just stared at each other in a stalemate of confusion. She had almost run into you, and you into her, and with her superhuman strength, you could predict how that might have ended for you. </p><p> </p><p>Startled as you were, Emă was the one who looked <em> horrified </em> . Like she had seen... <em> what could creatures like them even be scared of? </em></p><p>Whatever it was, she was frozen in utter shock. </p><p>Her expression then slowly changed to pure <em> disgust </em>, eyes darting from your face to the choker around your neck. </p><p> </p><p><em> Oh, my gods, I called the human, </em> <b> <em>Mom</em> </b> <em> . Why does she...why didn’t I notice last night that she smells like </em> <b> <em>Mom</em> </b> <em> !? </em></p><p>
  <em> Shame. I’ve brought shame to this whole House! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The silence must have stretched on for a whole minute. You dared reach your hand out, calculating the risk of whether you’d be pulling back with your limb intact. </p><p> </p><p>“E-Emă? Something the matter?”</p><p> </p><p>She grimaced, finally snapping out of her shock; the last time Emă cried, she was a child, and it had also been out of embarrassment. It looked like she would cry now. </p><p> </p><p>“Emă,” you tried again. But she reacted by gasping sharply, bursting into moths, and flying away, as the resounding, shrill wail of “Mother! <em> Mother! </em>” echoed throughout the length of the corridor. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> What...the hell just happened? I just wanted to find the damn bathroom.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>As luck would have it, you got lost—yet again. Every door you opened only revealed a room more extravagant than the last, and none of them had a sink nor a toilet. You were tired of seeing pearls, all their gold and silver and whatever other element they had in the shape of flowers, teardrop jewelry, and chandeliers. <em> My bloodline lived in poverty after they were driven out of here. </em>It made you sick. </p><p> </p><p>After what felt like the millionth left turn, you found yourself in the grand corridor, its sheer size definitely staying true to its name. You remembered that there was a route to the dining room from here, which meant the washroom you used last night wouldn’t be far. Not really sure what you were doing at this point, and just desperately wanting to get into some fresh clothes, you took a chance and ventured down the path of uncertainty. </p><p> </p><p>A large portrait caught your eye, which further delayed you from your intended destination. <em> A family portrait </em>. </p><p> </p><p>A massive oil painting of the Dimitrescu women, with Daniela seated in front of Alcina, and Emă and Tiffany standing on either side of her. There was a figure in the upper right corner, which you realized was Heisenberg in his mutated werewolf form. You got to know <em> that </em>one pretty well only yesterday.</p><p> </p><p>You stood there, just studying the artwork in all its glory, unable to really think of anything. It was a depiction of their family, <em> a </em>family, in unity. Was this showing you just exactly what you would be destroying? Not just their physical ties with each other, but their happiness, their emotional support system, their everything? You’d be wiping off the toothy, wide painted smile on Daniela’s face, and the forced awkward grin on Emă’s, and the innocence in Tiffany’s. </p><p>Would Heisenberg showcase such strength when he discovers his sister’s death? Is that the form he’d take on to avenge her? You didn’t want to consider the girls - you knew they’d see only red, like the dress you had yet to change out of.</p><p> </p><p>When you knew only of Alcina’s existence through Umbrella and your family, you never considered she’d be rich in ways money could never do. You thought you’d be leaving this castle empty. </p><p>Though, if you killed Alcina, you guess emptiness would still be the right word. Hearts had chambers, too.</p><p> </p><p>You startled at the sound of footsteps coming up behind you. </p><p> </p><p>“Where could Emă be—? Ah,” she followed with your name, “Fancy seeing you here…” Alcina stopped when she stood beside you.</p><p>“Mesmerized by something?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p><em> Hm. Smug, as always </em>.</p><p>“You were right. I do have an interest in the sublime,” you said, craning your neck to look up at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that how you see me?”</p><p> </p><p>“How else should I see you?”</p><p> </p><p>She chuckled, ignoring your question to ask with another, “In the Romantic sense, I presume?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” you blurted, before you realized her double entendre, and you blushed furiously.</p><p>“I-I was talking about the artistic era--,”</p><p> </p><p>You hated that she could silence you with a single look and a smirk. Then she laughed, and she threw her head back as her hand went to rest at her belly, shoulders slightly shaking.</p><p> </p><p>“I see where Tiffany gets her love of puns,” you couldn’t help commenting.</p><p> </p><p>Alcina’s laughter died down, and your observation was not lost on her. She was notably impressed that you would be mindful of such a detail, that you would care enough to remember an identifying quality in the first place. </p><p> </p><p>She sobered, then recalled why she was here in the first place.</p><p>“Can you--?”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you--?”</p><p>You looked away when you spoke in unison with her.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry. You first,” you made the call, hugging your change of clothes closer to your chest.</p><p> </p><p>“I heard my daughter calling for me. Have you seen Emă around?”</p><p> </p><p>You nodded, and explained your side of the story, “I don’t know why she freaked out. Then she just...flew away.”</p><p> </p><p>Alcina hummed, “Perhaps it’s because of that absolutely fearsome bedhead.” You felt the temperature rise in your cheeks yet again, embarrassed, and then reverse, blood turning cold when she reached out, brushing at a wayward lock that must have been sticking out of your head. </p><p> </p><p>“I-I have to go to the washroom. To...to change and clean up,” you confessed hurriedly.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Miss <em> Obvious </em>,” she returned the nickname you called her last night just as sardonically, “Sounds just like a human to completely disregard the very, very simple directions I’ve given her.”</p><p> </p><p>If you weren’t so desperate to use a damn (human-sized) <em> toilet </em>, you might have responded to her condescension. But you bit your tongue, to avoid her having to do it for you.</p><p> </p><p>“You can use the one near the kitchen. Continue down this corridor…” </p><p>You made sure to remember her words this time.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Wheeeeeeeeee! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Dani, your sickle--,” </p><p> </p><p>Tiffany didn’t get to finish her sentence before a row of pots and pans, that were hanging on nails on the wall, came tumbling down in a cacophony of metal clanging against each other in a pile on the floor after Daniela had accidentally ran her curved weapon through them.</p><p> </p><p>“Never knew I’d live long enough to witness <em> both </em>the Great Shatter of ‘34 and ‘21 myself,” Tiffany sighed.</p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg came into the scene at that very moment, clearly just waking up and in search of food. “It’s barely gonna be noon. What in the hell--oh. Dani-girl.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh,” Tiffany nodded, watching Daniela spinning in circles now, lost in her own world, humming ‘Danse Macabre’ with her sickle still in hand, somehow avoiding knocking ingredients and various bottles off the shelves.</p><p>Heisenberg stared at his niece, wondering if he had failed to rub all the sleep from his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“You really haven’t been here a while if you’re starting to think this is weird and isn’t her every morning. Nature is practically healing,” Tiffany sighed, but winced when a wine glass shattered from being knocked over.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right,” Heisenberg shook his head, walking straight to the icebox, “As long as she’s miles away from the factory--what happened to the coffee?”</p><p>His head snapped to Daniela, “No…she didn’t. Dani, you <em> didn’t </em>,”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela stopped in between hums to answer him, “She didn’t even make it for you! You snooze, you lose.”</p><p> </p><p>“Coffee or wine. Pick a vice,” Heisenberg growled.</p><p> </p><p>“You literally smoke. Both you and Ma.”</p><p> </p><p>“Copycat!” Tiffany said.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Am not! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>This heated conversation was what you walked in on. In trying to return to the grand corridor so you could retrace your footsteps back to your assigned chamber, you found yourself in the kitchen. A happy accident nonetheless. </p><p> </p><p>Daniela spotted you first, a jittery, bumbling mess. Literally. There were bees flying around her this time. </p><p> </p><p>“You must make more of the sweet eye opener potion,” she said, her eyes indeed wide open. </p><p> </p><p>“You sure that’s a good idea?” you chuckled nervously.</p><p> </p><p>“Does it look like she’s had a single good idea in her life?” Tiffany asked.</p><p> </p><p>Daniela pouted, looking to you, “I brought you here, didn’t I?”</p><p> </p><p>“I…” you weren’t sure how to respond to that; it was almost sweet. Almost. If you disregarded the blood consumption they scheduled in your near future.</p><p> </p><p>The kitchen doors creaked open, saving you from having to think of a response, and you watched Lady Dimitrescu and Emă join the party. Emă saw you and immediately her own little pout turned into an angrier one, eyes glowing orange as she glared at you. She had her arms wrapped around her mother, and the image was reminiscent of a koala clinging to a tree.</p><p> </p><p>“Emă, I have to—,” she started.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” her daughter protested, and hugged her even tighter.</p><p> </p><p>Alcina sighed, giving up on trying to get her daughter to explain what it was that was bothering her so much, to the point where she had locked her arms around her mother’s waist, legs dangling a few inches from the ground, so that Alcina had to lug her along.  </p><p> </p><p>“You’re not hurt, are you? Is it your head?”</p><p> </p><p>“No…”</p><p> </p><p>“I want a turn!” Tiffany exclaimed, raising her arms above her head, “Carry me, Mama.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can go after me, I’m older,” Daniela said.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not fair!”</p><p> </p><p>“We can go in alphabetical order then,”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay--wait, what the hell? I’ll still go last,”</p><p> </p><p>“Precisely,”</p><p> </p><p>“No one’s going, I’m staying right where I am. You two always hog Mom,” Emă cut in. Alcina sighed loudly.</p><p> </p><p>“Girls, please, let’s settle down. What is with you all this morning?” She paused, and took a deep inhale, “Did you make them coffee?” </p><p> </p><p>No amount of training would ever prepare you for the sharp look she threw your way. You raised your hands in front of you in defense, “I was about to. They must’ve drank the ones from the basket last night.”</p><p> </p><p>“Make us more!” Daniela demanded, fist in the air.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> No </em>,” Alcina said, “You think raising three children is hard? Try three on caffeine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fine, I won’t, then,”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll throw a tantrum!” Daniela threatened, a wicked grin on her face. </p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t one?” Emă quipped.</p><p> </p><p>Alcina sighed heavily for the twentieth consecutive time, rubbing Emă’s back with one hand to soothe whatever ailment she had that caused her to attach herself to Alcina’s hip and vow to never let go, as well as try to accommodate Tiffany with the other, who was reaching and begging to be picked up - all while also trying to keep Emă from swatting at Tiffany and possibly instigating a cat fight. She tipped up the brim of her sinking hat. </p><p>“Dani, you can’t always get your way by crying. As a future businesswoman of House Dimitrescu, you must learn how to negotiate like a proper la--,”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>“Psst, hey,” Heisenberg whispered gruffly to get your attention. </p><p> </p><p>You had just finished grinding their roasted coffee beans with an <em> 18th-century brass </em>coffee grinder and your arm’s endurance was never so tested as it was now, not even in training. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” you said, cracking your knuckles and stretching your fingers.</p><p> </p><p>He looked around, as if his next sentence would be sensitive, and couldn’t be heard by anyone. Then he reached into the pocket of his coat and produced a small pouch.</p><p>“300 Lei. Final offer,” he said, “I would like two. One for the road. Alcina told me you had to make a quick trip to the village. C’mon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhm, I’m making enough for, like, ten people so there will be plenty left over. You don’t have to pay me...why are we whispering again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah. You really are a nice one, you know that?”</p><p> </p><p>“And you really like your coffee, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Heisenberg shrugged, repocketing the coin pouch, “What can I say? Dimitrescu has wine. Heisenberg is all about coffee.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good to know.”</p><p> </p><p>With that, he went back to sit at the counter to watch the girls bicker for their mother’s attention, even though there was plenty to go around, leaving you alone to tend to the stove.</p><p> </p><p>But you watched as well, the family portrait come to life.</p><p> </p><p>The youngest daughters swarming around their mother, Alcina rolling her eyes yet enjoying the absolute glee and unhinged cackling that arose from their antics; the enigmatic uncle probably reliving his youth vicariously through them and reveling in being a bystander, witnessing the radiance they emitted from their wide smiles whenever they reformed.</p><p> </p><p>Alcina looked radiant. You’d be a fool to deny it.</p><p> </p><p>She met your eyes across the room amidst the chaos, catching you staring. You turned, jerking your head away, redirecting your attention to the milk which nearly boiled and bubbled over because you were being careless and allowing yourself to become distracted. Again. </p><p>
  <em> Again, again, again. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Why is it so hard to concentrate? It’s like my graduation from training was all for nothing… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>You had to remember your main objective. <em> I’m here to kill her. I’m here...to kill her…I need to go to Aunt Anca’s, find a phone, my charger, and tell Umbrella about the situation. </em></p><p> </p><p>You’d need to tell them that the mission just got more complicated. <em> ‘Did you know Dimitrescu had kids? Who the fuck slacked off and missed a whole-ass family for two centuries?’ Boy, are they in for a surprise. </em> </p><p> </p><p>You found a tray to serve the coffee jars in, setting them down on the island. Heisenberg wiggled his fingers briefly in his eagerness, thinking you hadn’t noticed. When he realized you had, he cleared his throat, tipped his hat downwards, and pushed his shades up to fully conceal his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Daniela and Tiffany greedily helped themselves, not waiting to be served. Heisenberg took a jar after they did, feigning disinterest (and failing).</p><p> </p><p>Two were left. For Alcina and Emă. You set it before them, offering a smile that mostly screamed ‘<em> Please don’t kill me right now </em>’ than it did politeness.</p><p>Emă’s clear disdain remained, but Alcina actually returned your smile.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes raked up and down your form, “Nice to see you found your way around. But don’t expect me to always be there to help you out. This isn’t a vacation and I am not your host.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Would she slice my throat if I returned her snark right here and now? You treat me so favorably, my Lady, I forget death is expecting me at every turn </em>, you wanted to say. </p><p>But your rational side told you, <em> Not in front of her kids </em>.</p><p> </p><p>You erred on the side of caution, your smartest move yet, and nodded, almost bowing even.</p><p> </p><p>She hummed contentedly, picking up a jar and taking a sip.</p><p> </p><p>“How was last night? Sleep well?” she asked you.</p><p> </p><p>You took this to mean that you could sit down in her presence.</p><p>“Last night was great. And yeah, but, I’m still a little sore.”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela, Tiffany, and Emă stopped what they were doing and quickly exchanged glances with each other.</p><p> </p><p>“You would’ve been in worse conditions had I not stepped in,” Alcina said.</p><p> </p><p>Her arrogance made you fume. <em> You know what actually? Fuck caution </em>.</p><p> </p><p>“Would I? You had me bent over the side of the bed and kept tugging on the laces like it was damn leash—who’s to say you didn’t contribute?”</p><p> </p><p>“A simple thank you would put an end to this asininity,”</p><p> </p><p>You glared at her, and she merely took another sip of the coffee <em> you </em> made that she had yet to <em> thank you </em>for.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks again for helping me out of my wardrobe malfunction,” you grumbled. </p><p> </p><p>“It was my pleasure,”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Stop! </em>” Emă screamed, finally letting Alcina go so she could cover her ears, “Mom...w-what…?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela and Tiffany crowded around you immediately, with Tiffany sniffing at your neck.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s clean, thank Satan,” Tiffany said at the same time as Daniela, who asked loudly, “Did you and Ma, bonk!?”</p><p> </p><p>Emă screamed bloody murder again, while Heisenberg choked and spat out his coffee, thankfully away from the counter.</p><p>“I’ll, I’ll clean that,” he coughed.</p><p> </p><p>Both your and Alcina’s eyes widened, “<em> No! </em>” you answered in unison.</p><p> </p><p>“Daniela May, watch your <em> mouth </em>,” Alcina reprimanded. </p><p> </p><p>“The sun should be right above us at this time. I will go outside right now and end it all, don’t test me,” Emă said, shaking her head, completely in distress. </p><p> </p><p>You turned to Heisenberg when he finally got over his coughing fit, “When can we leave for the village? Please say right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right now, yes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank God.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank Demeter,” Emă breathed, hands covering her eyes now while she crouched low on the floor with Tiffany petting her hair.</p><p> </p><p>If the devil lived anywhere on Earth, it was in Daniela’s plotting grin. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>On the way to the main entrance after retrieving your things, you heard the soft murmur of voices. </p><p>
  <em> Dimitrescu and Emă. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Sweetheart, I cannot help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” Alcina said softly to her daughter, who had clung onto her again.</p><p> </p><p>Emă knew she was overreacting. She didn’t really have a sound explanation since this wasn’t rational to begin with. First, it was the run-in with you earlier this morning; calling someone else ‘Mom,’ a stranger no less, accident or not, made her feel like she had betrayed Alcina somehow. Then, the idea of you and Alcina together...</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t help that Daniela and Tiffany had been throwing around step-mom jokes here and there like that wasn’t at all a big deal. Or that Tiffany compared your hug to Alcina’s the other day. Emă became weirdly defensive and overprotective since then. </p><p> </p><p>You weren’t her Mother, or stepmother, for that matter; that choker meant nothing but a tag. ‘Mom’ was too much of an important title to say so flippantly. And before all this, before you were marked for the Harvest, how could she be sure you wouldn’t have hurt Alcina—emotionally?</p><p>And she was plagued with questions in the spirit of what if you hadn’t accepted their nature? The things they did for survival? Their morals, values? No, she hated the idea of a mere mortal getting close to Alcina and never being sure if it would all come crumbling apart. </p><p>
  <em> Humans are like that. At least, the humans I’ve known in my life had all been like that. Who’s to say this maiden isn’t like that? If you consider probability, it’s too big a risk.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Rejection would always share a space in the universe’s deck of playing cards. She had yet to ever witness her mother cry, and vice versa. And Emă would be damned if you managed to kill two birds with one stone. </p><p> </p><p>“Darling, really, what is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” she sighed, “I just love you,” she stated, voice low and in a whisper, and realized she didn’t say it out loud enough. <em> I need to express it more. Doesn’t matter if she knows already. Dani, Tiff, and I would die for her after everything she’s done for us. We hope it doesn’t have to come to that, which means words are the next closest thing.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Alcina felt her heart swell, looking down at her child clinging so tightly to her. Emă had her eyes fixed somewhere on the carpet, expression stoic. Serious. </p><p> </p><p>She patted the top of Emă’s brown hair. If she wasn’t so attached to her hip, Alcina would have cupped her face in her hands and peppered her cheeks and forehead with kisses. </p><p> </p><p>“My most precious flower. If only you knew just how much I love <em> you </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>You had to admit, hiding behind a corner, hearing the exchange between mother and child...it made you feel guilty. Yet another portrait of what you’d be destroying.</p><p> </p><p>You huffed to yourself, through your teeth, and emerged from the corner - you had to, anyway. The way to the door was down this hall they were in.</p><p> </p><p>Alcina looked up, “Leaving?” her tone was taunting. Emă’s expression never changed so fast.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait!”</p><p> </p><p>You turned to see Daniela and Tiffany reform and land in front of you to see you out, with the youngest sister holding out a folded pile of clothes towards you. “Here are the clothes you came here with. I fixed up the tears in your jacket. Sorry I didn’t have time to wash them, but it’s all there,” she explained.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh! Right. Thank you,” you said, trying to hide your sudden apprehension from remembering Lady Dimitrescu’s portrait tucked inside your bra. You took your belongings back, adding, “And, uh, I guess thanks for leaving me a change of clothes in my room last night.”</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany frowned, confused, “Huh? I didn’t go anywhere near there after dinner, though,”</p><p> </p><p>“But there was…” <em> Okay, this is pointless. I have to go, </em> “Nevermind.”</p><p> </p><p>Daniela raised a brow, stifling another smile as she met Alcina’s eyes, who she caught red-handed. Alcina warned her with a single look that all mothers came equipped with to keep her mouth shut and behave.</p><p> </p><p>But Daniela knew who your visitor was. What she would do with that bit of information, she wasn’t yet sure. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Dani will not be giving up hope anytime soon. Do we really want her to, though?</p><p>Let’s be friends on my socials!</p><p>tumblr: themagnacarla<br/>- I have an #itav tag! Including, but not limited to, aesthetic, general vibes, shitposts, and pretty quotes.<br/>twitter: oddlike17</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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